


Soulmates Through the Stage

by lala_the_rebel



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Theatre, M/M, Swearing, general shenanigans all around
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:00:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 25,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24018658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lala_the_rebel/pseuds/lala_the_rebel
Summary: Logan and Roman are known rivals in their local acting community, and then some. And when they just so happened to get cast in a show together, chaos was bound to ensue. But after a slight mistake from techie Virgil, things take an unexpected turn that could potentially screw all their hard work up if they're not careful. Will things be fixed by the opening night, or will it all go haywire?
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 10
Kudos: 37





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hi! so this fic was my first real big thing i wrote for the sanders sides fandom, and i'm still somewhat proud of it! now that i finally have an ao3, i figured to post it with a few tweaks here and there (including an actual title lol)! the whole thing was originally posted on my tumblr (lala-the-rebel) starting in 2018.  
> hope you enjoy! i'm still new to using this, so please tell me if i missed something important at any point!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter and the two that follow it are actually all meant to be one, but because of tumblr's posting format, i had to split it up; hence why it ends abruptly  
> the first three chapters were originally posted on march 5th, 2018!

Logan walked into the theater, half wanting to be there, half regretting it. He had enjoyed the rehearsals as much as anyone.  
  
But the one thing he did not enjoy was Roman. Or at least the arguments that always ensued between them. They butted heads on pretty much everything, from how to do something in the play to simple stuff. It got on his nerves.  
  
The guy may have been an impressive actor, but he definitely wasn't that impressive of a person.  
  
At least his personality wasn't. His looks, on the other hand, made Logan think otherwise.  
  
He would catch himself glancing at Roman from time to time, only stopping when Roman was looking his way. He was pretty damn good looking, Logan had to admit. Just everything about him was.  
  
But he knew that everyone loved Roman’s looks. He knew that he was complimented on them all the time by fans and other people there with them. Roman could win anyone over with his looks. Even Logan.  
  
But that was where he drew the line. Besides appearance, Logan hated Roman with a passion. He wouldn't let him, or anyone else for that matter, know otherwise.  
  
He didn't see Roman anywhere as he walked to where he needed to. Thank goodness. He was greeted right away by Patton, the director.  
  
“Great, Logan, you're here,” he said. “We've got a big scene to run today, and it's priority on my list of things to get done. It includes you, so we couldn't start until you got here.”  
  
Logan nodded, half listening. He was still looking for Roman, hoping he wasn't anywhere near.  
  
Patton was still babbling on. “That means you need to get your costume on as quickly as possible and then we need to get a mic on you.”  
  
“Wait, what?” Logan said, finally breaking out of his trance.  
  
Patton sighed in frustration. “Go get your costume on, then go see Virgil! Now hurry!” He hit him on the back with the clipboard he was holding for effect.  
  
Logan rushed backstage and quickly got costumed up. Once he was done, he walked over to where Virgil was.  
  
The tech was hurriedly putting mics on several of the other actors, adjusting them as he needed before moving on to the next. He had just finished the last one and thought he was done, up until he saw Logan walk up.  
  
“Late as usual, aren't you?” Virgil piped, grabbing a mic and beginning to put it on the other. He laughed to himself as he adjusted it.  
  
Logan sighed, not amused by the joke. He heard it multiple times before. “I'm not late, everyone else is simply early.”  
  
“That's what Roman says when he's late, y'know.”  
  
“I figured as much, for it is a Disney quote. The man is practically a walking version of the theme park,” joked Logan. He sounded serious when he said it, though.  
  
Virgil snorted. “You, Logan, the Logan, using a Disney quote? And knowing it is one Roman uses, but using it anyway? Hell must have frozen over. Pigs may even being flying while we're at it. Tell me if you see one.”  
  
Logan smacked him as he continued snickering. “Very funny.” He was about to scold him even more before Patton’s booming voice demanded for Logan to be on stage. He sighed and made his way over, but not before Virgil gave him one final adjustment.  
  
He walked out and took his place. He was half-listening to Patton’s demands. All he was basically doing was going over what scene they were rehearsing, but Logan knew which one it was already. He moved his gaze from Patton’s direction to the other side of the stage.  
  
There he spotted Roman. He was decked out in his prince costume, talking to one of the extras. His gaze met Logan’s, going from smiling to shocked. Normally, the sight of Logan would make Roman’s face turn, but he didn't do that today for some reason. He kept his gaze locked on Logan, eventually making him look away sharply. He snickered as the other did so, then turned his attention back to the person he was talking with.  
  
Logan hesitantly looked back, then turned to Patton again. He really wasn't listening now, so he tried to. But it was somewhat hard to when he heard Virgil giggling behind him.  
  
He shot the tech a look, but that didn't stop him. His attention was refocused when Patton called his name.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see the notes on chapter 1!

“Logan! Two things! Mic test and the glasses!”  
  
“Okay, what about them?” Logan asked. His voice boomed loudly in the speakers, but was quickly lowered by Virgil's doing.  
  
“Well, your mic definitely works,” Patton replied. “But the glasses! I thought you had contacts to wear. Where are his contacts? Tech!”  
  
Virgil popped out onto the stage not too long after. “They're in with the makeup, I believe. Why are you asking me?”  
  
“Does it matter? Get the man his contacts!” demanded Patton.  
  
Virgil quickly grabbed Logan as a result and tugged him off the stage. He took a moment to disconnect his specific mic, then walked him backstage. He didn't stay back there long, as Patton called his name again to do something else.  
  
Logan was left on his own, but he knew perfectly well where the contacts were. He had them in his stuff, so he walked over to get them. Unfortunately, the only place where there was a mirror to put them in was where everyone else was at backstage. He sighed and went over to it, knowing he had no other place to go.  
  
He put his stuff on the table in front of it, then took off his glasses. He blinked a couple of times as a result of not being able to see, but then reached down and grabbed one of the contacts.  
  
As he was about to put it in his eye, Roman walked behind him and bumped him. His hand moved and the contact fell to the ground. It was a goner now. He couldn't tell where it disappeared to.  
  
“Damn it,” Logan huffed. He turned to Roman, putting his glasses back on as he did so in order to see him. “Roman, you buffoon! Watch where you're going next time.”  
  
“Don't park your ass in the walkway to begin with,” Roman retorted. “What are you even doing anyway?”  
  
“Putting my contacts in, but you just made me lose my last one!”  
  
“You have another one, don't you?” Roman asked, sounding unamused.  
  
“I need two of them to see, half-wit,” Logan barked. “Now I have to wear my glasses.”  
  
Roman rolled his eyes. “Just take them off and go out there. Patton won't know the difference.”  
  
“I won't be able to see! He'll know the difference if I run into things I normally don't!” Logan’s patience was slowly waning. He didn't want to deal with Roman on top of what Patton was going to bring upon him.  
  
“Oh well, it's your own fault. You were in my way.”  
  
That broke him. “Your way? I was not in your damn way at all! You physically rammed into me! You went out of your way to do that!”  
  
Roman returned fire with the same tone. “I did no such thing! How dare you blame me!”  
  
They continued their bickering, gradually getting louder. Virgil, in the meantime, had heard them all the way from where he was. He decided to stop them before they got Patton’s attention. Anyone knew that if he heard them arguing, then the whole mood of the day was to go downhill.  
  
He rushed backstage, running into another one of the crew members. “Where are they at?” he asked.  
  
“Over on the other side, fighting yet again,” they replied with a jerk of their thumb. Virgil ran past them in a blur, not even bothering to thank them. Anyone on the crew knew that if Logan and Roman were fighting, Virgil was the only other person besides Patton who could stop them. A lot of them preferred if Virgil dealt with it instead of Patton, so they would let him do whatever he could to stop it.  
  
He finally got to them. They didn't notice him come up since they were that distracted with arguing, but they did once he madly tapped their shoulders as well as yelling for them to stop.  
  
“What is it this time, you two?” he asked in the same unimpressed tone he had with everything. They both went to answer him at the same time, but he raised a hand before they said anything. “Logan, you first.”  
  
“I was trying to put my contacts in, as Patton told me to do, but then he rammed himself into me and knocked it out of my hand!” Logan explained, pointing for effect at Roman. “Then when I told him it was my last one, he was trying to suggest I should go out there and act like I have them in, when in reality I wouldn't be able to see anything!”  
  
“Hey, you were in my way! You should have found a better place to put your damn contacts in instead of the busiest place back here!” Roman interrupted. “I was also trying to help you with a suggestion!”  
  
“Oh, sure, you were-”  
  
“Enough!” Virgil yelled. “Unless you guys want Patton after you, there's going to be no more arguing, got it? I'll be surprised if he doesn't get after you when you get on stage. I could hear you all the way from where I was at.”  
  
“But, Virgil-”  
  
“But nothing. I don't care who's right or wrong here. Just shut up about it until this whole thing is done and over with!” He walked off afterwards back to where he had been before. He looked at Patton, who was still distracted with talking to the other actors. Once Logan went on stage, he turned his attention. Patton noticed Logan still had his glasses on, so he questioned him about it.  
  
“Logan! Where are your contacts?”  
  
“I lost them and I don't have another pair on me,” he admitted.  
  
A sigh could be heard from Patton all the way from the stage. “How did you lose them?”  
  
Virgil shook his head. “Shouldn't have asked that, Patton,” he muttered.  
  
“Roman, that's how!”  
  
“Roman? What do you mean-”  
  
He was cut off by Roman stomping onto the stage. “Oh no, you are not laying the blame on me! I knew you were going to try doing that!”  
  
“Why not?” Logan shouted back at him. “It is your fault, after all!”  
  
“You know perfectly well why not!”  
  
They began bickering again, getting louder and louder. Virgil could tell Patton was trying to stop them, since he heard his voice along them. He just kept sighing, frustrated with the whole matter.  
  
He moved his attention to the soundboard, realizing both of their mics were still on. He was about to turn both of them down before someone behind him sneezed and scared him. He jumped, moving the dials up instead of down. The whole theater was suddenly filled with the excessively loud voices of Roman and Logan. It made everyone scream, from what he heard. He quickly turned it down and apologized, then turned around to see what made him startled, or rather who. He found the culprit, who awkwardly smiled. He said a reluctant “bless you” to them, then went back to paying attention to the others.  
  
Patton would call for a break, pulling Roman to the side in the meantime. As he left to talk to him, he shouted for Virgil to cut the mics.  
  
He did. But they wouldn't stay like that for long.  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> see the notes in chapter 1!

“I hate him with a passion,” Logan seethed as he walked over. He ran his hand through his hair in frustration.  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes and laughed. “I saw what you did earlier.”  
  
“What?” Logan asked nonchalantly.  
  
“The staring thing. You were looking at him, thinking he wouldn't see you. Like you usually do.”  
  
The other scoffed. “And?”  
  
“And when he finally did see you, you looked away right after. You gave yourself away, dude,” Virgil explained.  
  
“I did not give anything away.”  
  
“C'mon, Logan, it's obvious you're into him.”  
  
“I am not! You know very well about my opinions of him. Especially after right now!”  
  
“I do know, very, very well,” Virgil said. He knew Logan was about to start ranting. He ended up tuning him out. It was the same things every time about Roman; his self-centered attitude, his blaming everything on everyone else, same old same old. Virgil had heard it all before.  
  
He positioned himself so that he could now be more comfortable as he listened to him ramble. But as he did so, he switched the mics back on with his hand. By that time, Roman and Patton weren't done talking, but they stopped as soon as they heard Logan's voice followed by Virgil's. They caught him as soon as he was done with his ranting and listening to Virgil.  
  
“You know, with the way you talk about Roman so much, I'm beginning to think you like him, Lo,” the tech replied.  
  
“Psh, I do not.”  
  
“There's gotta be something you like about him. His looks maybe? I know you stare at him.”  
  
Those who were listening in tried to stifle their shock. Virgil’s statement made Roman smirk, a light blush spreading across his face. He was kind of flattered by his "sworn enemy" liking him. Yeah, sure, people said they liked his looks all the time, but he expected that from them. They usually were fans of him.  
  
But Logan? Logan hated him. They mutually hated each other, he knew. But he had to admit to himself he liked Logan a little bit. He couldn't tell if the attraction was physical or not, but he didn't really care. He hoped it was a thing he'd get over.  
  
So did Logan. He went through the same thing.  
  
“I don't stare at him,” Logan scoffed. “And even if I did, do you blame me? He puts on a fine show when he performs. He's good at what he does.”  
  
“No, I don't blame you. But I don't mean just looking at him when he performs. I mean looking at him in general. You think he's hot.”  
  
That got an array of ‘oohs’ from the cast and crew listening. It made Roman even more red. And although Patton was tempted to interrupt, he wanted to know more, so he stayed put and said nothing.  
  
Logan also turned a little red. Virgil smirked when he saw it.  
  
“Again, do you blame me though? Have you seen Roman at all?” Logan finally asked.  
  
“Well, yeah, duh. Of course I have."  
  
“You've seen how well-built he is, how tall he is, how broad his shoulders are, how everything is on him,” Logan breathed. “I mean, he is a man and a hell of one at that.”  
  
“Is he now?” Virgil said, smirking up a storm. He could barely see Roman on the other end of the stage. But he could definitely see how red he was. He wondered why, but he wouldn't wonder for long.  
  
Patton had decided then that enough was enough and hurriedly walked over to him. “Hey, um, Virgil?”  
  
He straightened up his posture. “Yeah?”  
  
“I think you forgot to turn the mics off.”  
  
Logan’s eyes went wide.  
  
“What do you mean I forgot?” he asked, confused. He turned to looked at the switch. “I could have sworn I did- shit.” He sheepishly looked up at Patton. “Heh, my mistake. I'll be more careful of that next time.”  
  
“Yeah, that would help.” Patton walked off the stage after that.  
  
Logan watched him leave, then looked at Virgil, who was fiddling with some of the buttons. He dreaded turning around.  
  
“I'll leave you two alone,” Virgil said, breaking the silence. He started backing up.  
  
“No!” Logan said in exasperation. “You got me into this, you're gonna stay for it.”  
  
“And who's gonna make me?” With that, Virgil walked off. But he didn't go far. He just went where Patton was in the front row. When he got there, Patton was about to question him, but he shushed him up. “I didn't quite turn the mics off, just down.”  
  
“Why would you do that for?”  
  
“Oh, you'll see.”  
  
Logan watched him walk off. The only thing he could do was turn around. He had no other distractions now.  
  
So he did.  
  
He saw Roman, smirking away. But blushing a little as well.  
  
He was not prepared at all for what was going to be next.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so some backstory to this: at this point, i decided to delve off from the post that inspired me to start the whole thing into a storyline i came up with on my own since people liked the concept so much on tumblr!  
> originally posted march 6th, 2018!

Logan took a deep breath, not knowing what to say. He kept his gaze locked on Roman, as awkward as it was.  
  
“Logan, you good?” Roman finally asked. He didn't get a reply, so he tried again. “Um, Logan?” He waved his hand in front of his face for effect, but Logan still didn't budge. “Loooooogan?”  
  
After a couple blinks and a shake of his head, Logan finally returned to reality. “Hm?”  
  
“Dude, you good?”  
  
“Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.” He waved his hand to show Roman that he didn't need to worry.  
  
“Okay, then, would you want to talk maybe somewhere more private?” Roman asked.  
  
Logan felt he was blushing again. “We-we can do that.” He heard a slight echo and realized that his mic was still on. He sighed. Freaking Virgil. “Before we do that though, I suggest you do this.” He started taking off his mic. He had some difficulty with it, as he tried not to tangle it, but he eventually got it off of him and held it up in his triumph. But it slipped off of his hand and fell to the ground. When it fell, Roman snickered.  
  
He then took off his own mic with much more ease and casually tossed it to where Logan’s was. Logan looked at the small pile, then at Roman, then back at the pile. “We should pick those up.”  
  
“Yeah,” Roman agreed. He bent down on one knee and grabbed both of the mics. He then held them up to Logan, looking up at him as he patiently offered them out to him.  
  
Logan’s mind instantly went to places once he saw the other bend down, but he left them once Roman held the mics up. He grabbed them and set them on the soundboard. He then looked for where their mics were labeled and shut them off.  
  
Virgil heard the somewhat familiar sound and cursed out loud. “Damn it, they caught on.”  
  
“Caught on to what?” Patton innocently asked.  
  
“Nothing, nothing at all.”  
  
Patton looked at him. “You had a plan to snoop on them, didn't you?”  
  
“Yeah, I kinda did…” said Virgil with hesitation. He moved out of the way as soon as he said it to avoid the wrath of Patton and his clipboard. “What?!”  
  
“You know what,” the other scolded. “Let them deal with this on their own. If they solve whatever it is between them, it'll make life a whole lot easier on all of us. And while they do that, we can rehearse something else without them.” He looked at his clipboard. “Ah, yes! Virgil, where are the swords?”  
  
“On the prop table,” he returned matter-of-factly.  
  
“Go! Get them!” Patton rushed him. “We’re going to need them in the next scene. Quickly, go go!”  
  
Virgil walked off as fast as he could before he risked being hit with the clipboard. He made his way to the stage, then went to the back where the prop table was. He didn't see the box he was looking for there.  
  
“You're kidding me.” He had a feeling he knew where they would be, so he walked over there.  
  
He checked the green room. Sure enough, they were there. Probably because of Roman. He liked to misplace the props, since he knew Virgil was made responsible to get them a lot of the time.  
  
He grabbed the box and left the room. He was mumbling something about Roman before he ran into another techie. “Hey, have you seen Roman?”  
  
“He was heading in the back last time I saw him. Probably by where his things are.”  
  
“Oh, thank you.” He started walking in that direction. It didn't take him long since he just had to walk to the other side of the stage. He looked for him on the way amongst the crowd of other crew members. He finally found him, turned around. “There you are.”  
  
No reply.  
  
“Yo, Roman, did you move these again?” Still nothing. He took another step towards him, attempting to get a better view.  
  
He got a view alright.  
  
Roman had been madly making out with Logan. No wonder why he didn't reply.  
  
Virgil's eyes went wide once he saw them. And then he dropped the prop box.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on march 6th, 2018!

The two immediately stopped what they were doing, startled by the sudden thump. Roman pulled back, looking confused as to what interrupted them. But Logan knew right away and gave Virgil at first a look of shock, then a look of anger. The change in his face confused Roman even more, so he turned around to see what he was looking at. He saw Virgil and let out a small gasp. He slowly backed away from Logan and awkwardly made eye contact with Virgil.  
  
“Oh, Virgil, didn't, um, see ya there, heh, heh,” he said to break the tension. “Wh-what all did you see?”  
  
“Enough,” Virgil said, still looking at him.  
  
“Please don't say anything,” Logan pleaded.  
  
“How could I not? This is one hell of a plot twist! Known enemies turned to lovers? People eat that up!”  
  
“That's not what we are!” Logan defended. “We just have a mutual interest in each other.”  
  
“From what I saw, that was more than just interest.”  
  
Before the other two could reply, Patton could be heard shouting Virgil’s name, demanding where he was at with the props. Virgil realized what he was supposed to be doing and was about to grab the box, but Patton already arrived.  
  
He must have seen him beforehand, because he walked up rambling on about something. Virgil barely understood him, so he didn't say anything. And when he didn't, he got questioned by Patton.  
  
“Virgil, I clearly saw you, why aren't you answering-” He got sight of Logan and Roman once he looked up. “What were they doing? Were they arguing back here again?”  
  
“I think I’ll let them explain,” Virgil said, winking in their direction. He got a look from Logan in return, which made him smirk a bit.  
  
“Okay then,” Patton said as he turned his head towards them and crossed his arms. “What were you doing?”  
  
“We were just sorting this whole thing out, no worries,” Roman assured him. “We got it all worked out now.”  
  
“Well, good. We need you two up there. I mean not yet, since I moved your scene back, but you're on once it's done.” He started leaving, which Virgil took as a sign for him to follow with the box. He kept up with Patton as the other two trailed behind.  
  
“Should I tell him about it?” Logan hesitantly asked, keeping his voice low.  
  
Roman shrugged, then replied in the same tone. “Which one? If you mean Virgil, then that's fine. Just make him swear he won't blab to anyone. If you mean Patton, I wouldn't. Although he might find out anyway. There's no keeping anything from him.”  
  
Logan nodded in agreement. “Fair point. I did mean Virgil, by the way. But I will definitely make him swear not to say anything.”  
  
They made their way back to the front of the stage finally. Roman broke off to go talk to other cast members, while Logan hung around the soundboard waiting for Virgil to get done placing the props.  
  
Virgil didn't see him there when he came back. And when he did, he jumped about a mile high, making Logan snort.  
  
“Rude.”  
  
“I know.”  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes, then sat in his chair next to the board, leaving Logan to stand. He focused on it and waited for Patton’s demands to come.  
  
Logan spoke out of nowhere. “So, did you want to know what all went down back there?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted march 8th, 2018!

Virgil spun around in his chair so fast he almost fell off. “Do I ever! Spill the freaking beans!”  
  
Logan chuckled at his enthusiasm. “Okay, okay.” He glanced around for sight of anyone else, then looked back at Virgil. “Well, once we got back there, we got to talking. He asked me if what I was telling you was really what I thought about him.”  
  
“And is it?”  
  
Logan hesitated, but nodded. “Yeah, it is. And when I told him it was, he was kinda shocked. He didn't expect me, of all people, to think of him like that.”  
  
“Is it because you guys hate each other?” Virgil questioned.  
  
“Not only that, but because he thought I didn't really go for guys like him.”  
  
That made Virgil snort. “Well, neither did I, and I know you better than anyone here. But look where we are now.”  
  
Logan went to go smack him on his arm, but he scooted his chair away from him before he got a chance. He continued snickering as Logan scowled at him.  
  
“Dude, be serious here,” he begged.  
  
It took Virgil a while to calm down. “Okay, fine, fine, I will. I'll be serious now.” He tried looking Logan in the eye, but couldn't do it. He started smirking again.  
  
Logan looked at him with a face straighter than himself, unamused by Virgil’s antics. “Are you done?”  
  
The tech let out a couple more snickers, then took a deep breath to calm down. “Now I am.”  
  
“You sure?”  
  
Just then Patton called Virgil to turn the mics down for those that were on the stage. Virgil sighed, but did it anyway. As he did, he continued talking to Logan. “Yeah, now tell me before anyone else chooses to interrupt.”  
  
“So, after I tell him that, he admitted that he liked me as well. And apparently not just for my looks, but for who I am as well.”  
  
“You mean your personality?” Virgil said without moving his glance. He saw Logan nod his head out of the corner of his eye, which allowed him to continue talking. “But isn't that why you hate each other, too?”  
  
“Yes and no. He said that the way I act and all that reminded him of himself, for some reason, and he admired that.”  
  
“Of course, he's as self-centered as they come,” the other remarked.  
  
Logan rolled his eyes, then continued. “The reason why we hated each other was because we were too much like each other. At least I think it is, I don't know what he thinks. But either way, we got out our thoughts. And then, it kinda just left an awkward silence.”  
  
Virgil spun back around in his chair to face him. “Is that-” He was about to go back around again, but stopped himself from doing so. “Is that what led to what I saw?”  
  
Logan looked down, avoiding Virgil’s stare. But he couldn't avoid his blushing, which he attempted to hide. “Yeah,” he awkwardly admitted. “We were just staring at each other, then we were leaning in-”  
  
“Who initiated it?” Virgil asked with a raise of his eyebrows. Logan's face got even redder when he said that. “Logan…” Still no answer. A smile then reached across Virgil’s face as he realized it. “You did it, didn't you?”  
  
“Maybe,” he mumbled. He began smirking himself, letting Virgil’s mind go wild.  
  
“There is no maybe! You either did or didn't.”  
  
Logan rolled his eyes, but he wasn't mad. What was the point of hiding it from him now?  
  
“Yeah, I did.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on march 11th, 2018!

Virgil’s face lit up in excitement. He started playfully hitting Logan on the arm. “Dude, no way! I didn't know you had that in you! Look at you go.” He then crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in his chair, putting one hand under his chin. “What did he think of it?”  
  
“I...think he liked it, because he wasted no time returning the favor.”  
  
Virgil smirked. “Ooh, damn.” He thought for a minute of what he was going to say next. “Is this little thing between you guys is gonna go any further?”  
  
Logan shrugged. He was about to answer before Patton called him onto the stage. He looked at Virgil. “I'll tell you later, maybe.”  
  
Virgil spun around in his chair to face him as he walked off. “Logan, no!”  
  
“I gotta go!”  
  
“You can't just leave me hanging like that!”  
  
“Well, I just did.”  
  
“Logan, c'mon.”  
  
“No, and just for that I won't tell you for sure now.”  
  
He scoffed. “Why not?”  
  
“I've told you enough already, dude.”  
  
“So? You can't tell me this one little thing?”  
  
Patton called yet again. Logan winced, but began moving. “No, I can't. Just forget about it, I'll tell you when I want to.”  
  
“And when will that be?” No answer. “Logan!”  
  
It was too late now. He was gone, he wouldn't listen.  
  
Virgil sighed in frustration and spun back around. He got an idea.  
  
_If that's how he wants to play the game, then that's how we’ll play the game._  
  
He saw another one of the techs walking by and got their attention. He asked if they could take his spot for a minute while he went to go do something. They agreed, and Virgil ran down to the seats where Patton was.  
  
He had a plan.  
  
He tried to startle Patton, but he wasn't successful. The director felt him come beside him. “What do you want, Virgil?” he asked without turning his head.  
  
“Oh, nothing,” he said nonchalantly.  
  
“You don't just come here and bug me for nothing.”  
  
“Okay, fine,” Virgil smirked. “What if I told you that Logan and Roman weren't really arguing over something when I found them in the back?”  
  
Patton turned his head towards him, then back down at his clipboard. “Don't be ridiculous. What would they be doing?”  
  
The tech had to keep himself from grinning. “Oh, I don't know, making out maybe?”  
  
With that, Patton dropped his clipboard.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on march 11th, 2018!

Virgil now had Patton’s full attention. “You've gotta be kidding me.”  
  
Virgil shook his head. “Nope.”  
  
“Why-why-why would they do that? Do they have a thing for each other? Are they together?” he babbled. He would have continued asking more questions, but he was stopped by Virgil.  
  
“Calm down, calm down. Yeah, they do have a thing for each other, but I don't know if they're together. He wouldn't tell me.”  
  
“Wow,” Patton said, still somewhat shocked by the news. He didn't really know what to say.  
  
While this was going on, Logan was watching from the sidelines. He had went on already, so he came back to where he was standing before. Except he didn't see Virgil there.  
  
He did see the tech that took his place. “Where'd Virgil go?”  
  
“I dunno. Probably with Patton.”  
  
“Patton, why would he be with Patton?” The realization hit him. “Damn him.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Oh, it's nothing big. Just something personal. A friend thing.” He rushed back to the stage again, scanning the seats. He immediately found Patton and a glint of purple hair next to him. It was Virgil. He could have spotted him anywhere, no matter how well his black outfit blended into the background.  
  
Roman walked over to him, looking out, then back at him.  
  
“I'm gonna kill him.”  
  
“What did he do this time?” Roman asked jokingly. He didn't even have to be given a name to know who he meant.  
  
Logan looked at him, then back at the other two. “He's freaking telling Patton, I know him!”  
  
“Well, did you tell him not to?” Roman asked.  
  
“Yeah, I did,” Logan said matter-of-factly. “Wait.”  
  
“Logan…”  
  
“I may have forgot…”  
  
Roman hit him on the arm. “Damn it, man, that was the one thing you were supposed to do!”  
  
“I know!” Logan began pacing, then he looked back over at them for a second. “I don't want to watch, but I also do at the same time.”  
  
“I'll watch for you,” Roman offered.  
  
The other shook his head. “No, no.” He looked at him again, then at Roman. “I think I know what I'm gonna do to him.”  
  
“Don't go killing him.”  
  
“Oh no, as tempting as that is, I'm looking to do something more fun. For myself anyway.”  
  
Roman eyed him. “You're gonna mess with him, aren't you?”  
  
“In the most annoying ways possible, yes.”  
  
“And you're gonna want me to help you, aren't you?”  
  
Logan gave him a hopeful grin, pointing finger guns at him. “You wouldn't mind it, would you?”  
  
Roman tried giving him a disapproving look, but he couldn't for very long. “No, I wouldn't mind,” he admitted, smiling.  
  
“So you'll do it?”  
  
“Yes, I'll do it.”  
  
Logan held his hand up to him for a high five, which he gave him. “Hell yeah!”  
  
Roman laughed at his enthusiasm. He figured to go along with it. It made Logan happy.  
  
Logan, in the meantime, had several things running through his head. If he was gonna get Virgil back, he was gonna do it creatively.  
  
The game was on.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted march 14th, 2018!

Logan kept watching Virgil the rest of the rehearsal. He did it so much that Roman had to stop him a few times. Patton even got on him for not paying attention, but only once. Then he stopped.  
  
At least for the rest of the night. The next day, however, would be the day of Virgil’s reckoning.  
  
Logan decided to get there early today. It was an all-day rehearsal pretty much, so he had to be there earlier than he was yesterday. But he decided to be there even earlier to scope his grounds.  
  
Not even Virgil was there when he arrived. Which was partially expected since Logan got there earlier than a lot of people, but never Virgil. He had to be there early most of the time.  
  
But apparently not today.  
  
Logan walked in, finding that he wasn't the only person there. Roman had been sitting in one of the front row seats while Patton was doing some rushing around on stage with the few crew members present. He saw Logan arrive, making a mental note that he was there.  
  
“Hey,” he greeted Roman as he tapped on his shoulder.  
  
The other turned from his phone, seeing who it was that startled him. “Oh, why are you here so early?”  
  
“I could say the same for you.”  
  
Roman pointed a finger at him. “I asked first.”  
  
“Okay, then. I was thinking of starting our hijinks a little ahead of schedule,” Logan smirked.  
  
“Oh boy,” Roman said, rolling his eyes. “What do you have in mind? I'd like to put in a suggestion, if that is acceptable.”  
  
“It is, yes.”  
  
A sly smile worked its way onto Roman’s face. “He hates it when the prop boxes get moved. I mean, yeah, I do it all the time, but I always put them in the same spot. Maybe if we switch it up, we'll make him even more mad.”  
  
“Well, where do you usually hide it?”  
  
“In the back somewhere, but I think I have a different spot that's perfect.”  
  
Logan looked around the area. “Where?”  
  
“Everywhere.”  
  
“What do you mean?”  
  
“We take the different boxes and place them all in different spots. All around here, just so he has to go on a wild goose chase to find it,” explained Roman.  
  
“Do you think it'll work?”  
  
“If not, there's always other things we could do. Plus, we gotta watch out for Patton. He sees us screwing around, we're done for.”  
  
Logan nodded. “Got it. So do we do it now or later?”  
  
“Why not now? No one is here to see it, and the few who are will be easy to explain it to, except Patton.”  
  
“He'll find out no matter what.”  
  
“Find out what?”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted march 15th, 2018!

The two were startled by the new voice they heard, but they knew who it was. They turned to find Patton right there behind them, clipboard in hand. Logan took a tiny step back in fear of being hit with it.  
  
“N-nothing, Patton, nothing at all,” Roman stuttered.  
  
The director raised an eyebrow. “You did say I'll find out no matter what. Might as well be from you two and not from someone else.”  
  
“Okay, fine, we'll tell you,” Logan said. He took a breath to continue but was kicked in the shin by Roman.  
  
“There's not much to tell, Logan,” he tried lying. “We’re not going to do anything.”  
  
This time he was the one who got kicked in the shin. Except when he did so, he made a big deal out of it. He made a high-pitched squeak in pain and hopped on one leg, rubbing his shin. He had hopped away from Logan, and when he was done, he gave him an offended glare. ”Dude!”  
  
Logan looked at him and merely shrugged. “Why lie to him? We were just gonna mess with Virgil. That's all we were gonna do.”  
  
Patton sighed, unamused. “Whatever you do to him, just don't make it interrupt what we're doing.”  
  
“Really? That's all you're concerned about?” Logan asked.  
  
“Well, is there a reason behind it?”  
  
The two looked at each other nervously, contemplating what they would say. “It's just a thing between us. Friendly banter,” Roman assured him.  
  
“If you say so,” Patton said as he started to walk off. “Just remember what I told you.”  
  
Logan and Roman nodded at him until he had completely left their sight. Once he did, Roman laid into Logan. “Why did you do that?!”  
  
“Do what?” Logan asked nonchalantly. He knew what he did, but he played it off like he didn't just to tease Roman. Which worked.  
  
“You know what you freaking did! Now he's onto us!” Roman screeched at him, hitting his arm.  
  
Logan smirked, resisting the urge to laugh. “Yeah, I know. But hey, at least that was better than lying to him. If he found out, we would have gotten in even more trouble!”  
  
“Even so, we still lied a little bit!” Roman pointed out. “We told him it's just ‘friendly banter.’ It's not friendly at all!”  
  
Logan pointed a finger at him. “Hey, you said that, not me! Don't try any of this ‘we’ crap!”  
  
“You created this whole idea of messing with him in the first place! Of course I'm going to pull the ‘we’ crap!”  
  
Logan had to admit he had a point. “Okay, fine, I'll give you that.”  
  
Roman nodded. “Still, we didn't technically lie to him directly. This is a thing between us, is it not?”  
  
“Yeah, but, like you said, it's not just friendly banter, is it?”  
  
“Well, no-”  
  
“Then we did lie!”  
  
“No! We just told him part of the truth.”  
  
“Roman, we made it out like it was just that. It's not! It's our revenge on Virgil for telling Patton!” Logan argued.  
  
Roman gave him a look. “Really. I wonder why he did that. Oh wait, I know! Some dipstick forgot to tell him not to!”  
  
That set Logan off, which in turn set off Roman. They began to bicker, fortunately not loud enough for Patton to hear.  
  
In the meantime, Virgil had finally arrived. He was making his way up to the stage when he saw the other two. He walked up to them as they were arguing.  
  
“Ladies, ladies, please, you're both beautiful. Now what's the deal here?” he jokingly asked, getting them to stop.  
  
“Nothing,” they said in unison, looking at Virgil for a second before looking back at each other. They did a double take as soon as they realized who it was.  
  
“Bah!” Roman said, startled by the other.  
  
“Virgil! When did you get here?” Logan asked.  
  
“Like right now,” the tech answered with a smirk.  
  
“Did you hear anything?” Roman piped in.  
  
Virgil shook his head. “Was I supposed to?”  
  
“No!” Roman said a little too loud.  
  
“Okay then,” he hesitated before beginning to walk towards the stage.  
  
Roman shoved his elbow into Logan’s arm, prompting a small ‘ow’ from him. When he was given a questioning look, Roman merely whispered, “Distract him.”  
  
“How?” Logan returned in the same tone.  
  
“I don't know, make something up about us,” Roman suggested with a shrug.  
  
“No!” Logan interjected, rather too loud for his own good. He got Virgil to turn around for a second, but when he turned back, Logan continued. “No, I'm not doing that.”  
  
“Do you want this plan to work?”  
  
“Yeah-”  
  
“Then go!” Roman insisted as he pushed Logan forward. He almost tripped over his own feet, looking back at Roman with disgust when he finally got his balance. That resulted in Roman flicking his hands at him, emphasizing for him to get on with it.  
  
Logan sighed and turned around. He rolled his eyes, then walked forward.  
  
_This better be worth it._ “Virgil! Hold on!”  
  
He turned around at the call of his name, spotting Logan almost right up to him. “What?”  
  
“I, uh, have to talk to you about something.”  
  
Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Talk to me about what? What did I do?”  
  
Logan looked around, thinking of something to use for a lie. He got an idea. “I forgot to tell you this yesterday! You know about that little thing between me and Roman?”  
  
“Yeah? What about it?”  
  
“Would you mind, like, not saying anything about that to anyone? Maybe making it a, um, just-between-friends thing?”  
  
Virgil blanked for a second. He had already broken that, but, of course he couldn't tell Logan. If he ever found out, Virgil would be a dead man.  
  
What he didn't know was that he already was.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted march 20th, 2018! to quote myself in the original author's note on tumblr, the play they're doing is romeo and juliet since it was the first thing that came to my mind, lmao. it's lowkey referenced in here so keep an eye out for that, i suppose lol

“Virgil?”  
  
He didn't realize that he had zoned out on Logan, and he quickly apologized once he did. “Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. I totally can.” He tried his hardest to look Logan in the eye as he did so, hoping he'd come off as somewhat believable. He kept moving his gaze though, which made it harder.  
  
Logan kept looking him in the eye and nodded, giving a slight smile. “Good.” He walked off, probably to the costume room.  
  
He took it a little too well.  
  
_He knows._  
  
Once Logan was out of his sight, Virgil then rushed to talk to Patton. He didn't see him right away and almost knocked into him there on the stage. They both got startled as a result.  
  
Patton, who had almost dropped his clipboard, spoke first. “Virgil, you're here! I almost didn't see you there for a second.”  
  
“Oh, heh,” Virgil awkwardly laughed. “I, uh, need to talk to you, um, about a teeny, tiny, little thing.”  
  
Patton looked around. “Okay, but make it quick. We have a tight schedule today.”  
  
“Got it. So...you remember that thing I told you about Roman and Logan?”  
  
The other thought about it for a bit, then realized it and nodded enthusiastically. “Oh, yeah! You had found them-”  
  
Virgil quickly shushed him. “Yes, yes, that. It turns out…” _Stop hesitating. Just tell him already. It's like a bandaid; you just gotta rip it off._ “Turns out that Logan didn't want me saying anything and he didn't tell me that until this morning and so I lied saying I wasn't going to say anything even though I technically already have…”  
  
Patton took in his rush of words. “So? He won’t find out, will he?”  
  
“I think he already has.”  
  
“So he _does_ know you said something?”  
  
“No! At least, I don't think he does. If he does, he's playing it off that he doesn't very well.”  
  
Patton tapped his fingers on his clipboard a couple times as he watched Virgil pace. “Here's my suggestion. Act normal. Whatever you do. If he asks you if you've done something and you have, lie. Don't let him break you. If he starts acting like he knows something is up, or really just any different, then you might wanna say something.”  
  
“But if I do, I'm gonna catch hell for it!” complained Virgil.  
  
“You're gonna catch hell for it no matter what,” Patton pointed out. “I mean, if you want, you can tell him sooner. Maybe that'll lessen the blow for you. I don't know.”  
  
“It might, if I know Logan like I think I do. But I also know the longer I wait, the more he'll mess with me. That's how he works.”  
  
“Then mess with him back,” Patton said out of nowhere.  
  
“Wait, really?” Virgil asked, surprised.  
  
The director nodded. “I mean, you only said something to me figuring it was okay, right?” A nod from Virgil. “And when you found out it wasn't, it was too late, right?” He nodded again. “So isn't it Logan's fault for not telling you sooner?”  
  
Virgil considered his point. “Well, yeah. But he usually tells me things knowing automatically that I won't say anything as long as I can tell he doesn't want me to.”  
  
“And could you tell?”  
  
“Not at first.”  
  
“Then there you go. If he questions you on it, use that as your explanation.”  
  
Virgil gave him a puzzled look. “You sure that'll work?”  
  
Patton nodded. “I'm pretty sure. If he messes with you, it's just to probably break you. So, mess with him back to break him. Get him to admit he was wrong for not telling you sooner than he did.”  
  
“But what if he forgot to?” Virgil pointed out.  
  
“Do you honestly think Logan forgets things?” Patton joked around.  
  
Virgil shook his head, smirking. He did have to admit that. “You got me there.”  
  
Patton nodded. He then looked at the watch he had on his right arm for the time. “Damn.” He pulled out his phone, looking at it again on there. It read the same thing. “Damn!” He walked over to where a clock was on the wall and looked at it, Virgil tailing behind him. Still the same time. “Damn, damn!”  
  
“What?”  
  
Patton paced, looking at his clipboard. “We need to get things rolling. Which means getting mics on everyone, setting up stuff, y'know. But it would help if I had anyone here!” His voice rose up at the end. He looked at a group of other techs and pointed at them. “You, one of you. Go check on the dressing rooms. Get whoever is in there out of there.” He looked at the papers again. “Virgil!”  
  
The tech was right next to him. “Yes?”  
  
“We've had a lot of people gone on short notice today, so you're working overtime.”  
  
“Wait, what?” he interjected, but Patton kept going.  
  
“You're on props, curtains, and soundboard. You're also responsible for putting mics on everyone, and I mean everyone. You'll have another person doing it with you, though. She's new, but she learns fairly quick, if I remember right,” he continued to ramble. He stopped in his tracks as he realized something. He looked around, seeing none of the actors that he needed were near him yet. There were a few, but neither of them were Roman or Logan. Patton sighed. “Romeo, Romeo, wherefore the hell is Romeo?”  
  
“Romeo...?” Virgil asked to himself, confused. He then realized it. “Oh, Roman.”  
  
As soon as his name was said, the man in question arrived on stage, getting quickly swarmed by Patton. “What were you doing?”  
  
“Nothing, nothing, don't worry,” Roman assured him, moving his glance towards Virgil. He looked away once Patton began talking to him again.  
  
“I'm not.” He gave Roman a once over, making sure his costume was in order. Once he did, he looked at Virgil. “Get a mic on him and start on the others.” He pushed Roman towards Virgil's direction, then began looking around the stage for the other actors. He noticed there were a few gone, Logan in particular. He made a frustrated sigh. “Where the heck is Logan now?”  
  
“I don't know,” Roman lied as he stood waiting for Virgil. He knew what he was doing; he was hiding things. But, Roman remembered, he had to think of a lie.  
He hadn't yet.  
  
And if he didn't soon, he was screwed.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on march 21st, 2018, in celebration of roman's name reveal day!

“What do you mean you don't know?”  
  
Roman broke out of his trance. He looked over at Patton. “ _I don't know_ ,” he emphasized.  
  
Patton threw his hands up in frustration. “How am I supposed to direct a play when I have no actors to direct?!”  
  
“You don't have any mics either,” piped Virgil, returning from his trip to the prop table.  
  
“Are you kidding me?” His patience was wearing thin. “Where are the damn mics now?”  
  
Virgil shrugged. “I don't know. Do you, Roman?”  
  
_Crap._ “No.”  
  
Just then Logan made his way in. Roman looked at him desperately, but he never caught the other's eye.  
  
“There you are!” Patton practically screeched. “What were you doing?”  
  
“Didn't Roman tell you?”  
  
“No, he didn’t know.”  
  
_Good going there, Roman._ “Well then. I was looking for another pair of contacts, but apparently we don't have anymore of them,” he lied.  
  
“I could have told you that,” Patton returned. “Who cares, anyway. You don't need them quite yet. You've rehearsed enough with them before now. Opening night is what matters for having them.” He looked around the stage again, then focused on Virgil. He found him still there next to Roman. “Virgil!”  
  
The tech jumped at the sound of his name. “What?!”  
  
“Go find the mics!”  
  
“I am!”  
  
Patton rolled his eyes. “Not over here, somewhere else!”  
  
He sighed, but did it anyway, heading backstage. The other two looked at each other, then at Patton.  
  
“Well, what do we do?”  
  
The director looked at them, huffed, then flipped through his papers. “Just...chill for a couple minutes.” He walked off the stage to who knew where.  
  
As soon as he did, Logan rushed in front of Roman. He startled the other, who was focused on Patton exiting.  
  
“What happened to making a cover story for me?” Logan scolded.  
  
“I panicked! They asked me where you were and I hadn't come up with anything yet!”  
  
“Why didn't you?! I told you to!”  
  
“I don't work very well under pressure!”  
  
“You weren't pressured at all!” Logan pointed out. He studied Roman a little more, squinting his eyes. “You were distracted, weren't you?”  
  
“Now, whatever would distract me?” Roman tried asking nonchalantly.  
  
“I don't know, you tell me,” Logan rebutted.  
  
He had him pinned. He had to give in. “Okay fine, I forgot. I wasn't distracted. It wasn't until they asked me that I remembered, and even then, I couldn't think of something fast enough.”  
  
Logan didn't seem to believe him. “You forgot that fast?”  
  
“I-I don't know. I guess I did.”  
  
The other sighed, somewhat disappointed. “I'd get mad, but I can't. It's just the one time, and it's the only time you're gonna be forgetting.”  
  
“You mean I have to lie more?”  
  
“One of us has to.”  
  
Patton now rushed back up on the stage, clipboard absent, but knowingly somewhere. He didn't even bother acknowledging anyone. He immediately went to the back. As he left, Virgil arrived, empty-handed. He walked out to the stage, looked around, then caught Logan and Roman. “Where's Patton?”  
  
They both shrugged. “He went back there,” Roman informed. That made Virgil sigh and go back the way he came. As soon as he did, Patton reappeared, looking around.  
  
“Where's Virgil?”  
  
The other two were about to answer again, but the tech interrupted and grabbed Patton, taking him back there with him. Once they were gone, Roman turned to Logan.  
  
“Where did you hide them?”  
  
Logan snickered. “In a pretty obvious spot.”  
  
Roman stared him down. “The green room?” He got a nod from the other. He resisted laughing. “You really did send them on a wild goose chase.”  
  
They heard muffled shouts come from behind, so they went to investigate. They saw Patton rushing one way and Virgil the other, either avoiding or knocking into people. It was quite comical, and it made the two bust up laughing.  
  
The plan was working.  
  
A few more words were thrown here and there, but then it was silent for a bit. They saw a flash of purple hair fly towards the direction of the green room. He must have realized it.  
  
They had to calm their snickering down. They listened again for any sounds of arguing. Instead, they got sounds of rage.  
  
“Are you freaking kidding me?! These damn things were in here the whole time?!”  
  
They really couldn't stop laughing now. It was as silent as they could make it, but they still had the chance of being exposed.  
  
“Where were they at?” Patton faintly asked.  
  
“In the damn green room,” Virgil said spitefully. “And I know exactly who put them there.”  
  
Roman and Logan stopped dead in their tracks. “Oh no.”  
  
“Who?”  
  
“Roman. I'm gonna kill him.”  
  
“Now, you don't know that for sure.”  
  
“Oh, I do know! He always puts crap in there knowing it bugs me!” Virgil shook his head. “Last time he does it.” Loud footsteps neared them.  
  
“Roman, run,” Logan warned, pushing him away.  
  
“Hey, you're not letting me take the blame for this, are you?”  
  
“Yes, I am.”  
  
“Wait, I know it wasn't him! Or at least it wasn't just him!” Patton called out.  
  
Logan's eyes went wide. He was in for it now too.  
  
“How come?”  
  
“They both told me they we’re gonna mess with you, but they said it was just a friendly thing.” He then gasped. “It’s not a friendly thing, is it?”  
  
“Not anymore it is.” The footsteps quickened.  
  
Roman and Logan looked at each other, in front of them, then back at each other.  
  
Logan wasn't gonna take any chances. He started running off.  
  
“Dude, what're you doing?”  
  
“I'm hauling ass, that's what!”  
  
Roman began following him. “Why?”  
  
“ROMAN! LOGAN!”  
  
“That's why.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on march 28th, 2018!

Virgil made it to the stage as soon as they had left. He looked around for them, noticing they were gone. “I'm gonna find them, and when I find them, I'm gonna kill them.”  
  
Patton was behind him. “Now why would you wanna do that?”  
  
“This is their revenge on me, and I know it! It's not my fault, it's theirs for not clarifying anything! Also, when they told you they were messing with me, what did you say?”  
  
“I told them as long as it didn't mess with stuff we were doing, I didn't care.”  
  
“And is moving the mics messing with stuff we were doing?”  
  
Patton nodded. “Yeah.”  
  
“So shouldn't they get in trouble?”  
  
“At this point, I'd rather see you deal with them,” Patton chuckled.  
  
Virgil smirked. “Can I?”  
  
“Just don't kill them, I do still need them.”  
  
“Well, then that ruins the fun.”  
  
“Yeah, I know,” Patton said as he resisted laughing. “But wouldn't you like to tease them before you kill them? Just to have a little more fun?”  
  
“Well, yeah.”  
  
“Then do it in whatever way you want,” he said. “Just don't interrupt what we're doing, like I said before I was ignored.”  
  
Virgil nodded, then instantly got an idea. It was going against Patton's order, but he hoped that he would let it slide. Patton had more patience with him than he did with the other two.  
  
He went over to the curtain, having a feeling they were on the other side of it. He could hear their slight whispers.  
  
“Is he gone?”  
  
“I dunno.”  
  
“Did you look?”  
  
“No.”  
  
A thump of a hand against clothes. One of them must have smacked the other. Probably Logan. “Then do that!”  
  
A bit of muffled bickering, then Roman finally agreed and began walking out. He didn't see Virgil at first, but when he did, he let out a feminine scream that sent Virgil into hysterics. It made Logan come out from behind the curtain, realizing what happened.  
  
“You two, um, good?”  
  
Virgil nodded, still laughing anytime he got a glance at Roman. “I'm fine,” he said with a snort.  
  
“Roman?”  
  
He scowled at Virgil for laughing, but answered anyway. “A little scared out of my mind, but otherwise I'm good.”  
  
Virgil snorted once more, then started walking off, beckoning them to follow him. “C'mon, you guys, I need to do my thing here before Patton gets mad.”  
  
“Isn't he mad at you already?” Logan joked.  
  
“No,” Virgil scoffed. “Why would he be?”  
  
“Virgil!”  
  
He sighed at the call of his name.  
  
“That sure sounds like he's mad at you, doesn't it?” Roman smirked. He got smacked on the arm by Virgil.  
  
“Shut up,” he said as he made his way towards Patton. “What?”  
  
“Are you done yet?” the director asked.  
  
“No, I don't even have the box!”  
  
Logan interrupted with, “It's been over here this whole time!”  
  
Virgil looked behind him, seeing the box of the mics in front of the other two. He knew it wasn't there before. “I put those on the prop table. You moved it.”  
  
“You didn't even bother to look,” Logan retorted.  
  
“Don't argue over it. Just get it done,” Patton demanded. He walked off the stage afterwards, getting ready to run a scene.  
  
Virgil grabbed the box, put it back on the table where it was, then called one of them over there. Roman volunteered first. He took a mic out of it and began putting it on Roman, making sure to keep note of which one he was. Not that he had to do that anyway, but for his plan. He inspected him carefully afterwards, making sure nothing was out of place. “You're good. Logan!”  
  
The two quickly swapped places. Roman ran out onto the stage while Logan stood by Virgil with his arms crossed.  
  
“So you found out we were gonna trick you, huh?”


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on april 8th, 2018!  
> i know i'm kinda putting these out fast, but it's only because i have nothing better to do besides avoiding all my other writing projects lmao

“Yeah, just a little bit,” Virgil replied. “But don't worry. It's not my shit list you're on.”  
  
“What do you mean by that?”  
  
“I mean, I'm mad, yeah, but I'm not gonna take it out on you. If you want anyone to worry about, it's Patton,” Virgil lied. Another part to his plan. He was gonna make them paranoid by leading them on to think Patton was mad. In reality, he wasn't, but Virgil wasn't gonna let them know that.  
  
He was allowed to mess with them. This was the way he was gonna do it.  
  
“Wait, he's mad about it?” Logan asked in shock. “He didn't seem like it. I thought he was mad at you, if anything.”  
  
“No, he told me himself. He just, like, accidentally took it out on me.” He hoped he sounded believable.  
  
“You sure?” the other asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
To avoid eye contact, Virgil pretended like he had to adjust something on him again. “Very sure. I mean, if you wanna continue, then do it, I'm not your parent. I'm just warning you about what you're getting yourself into.” He got done and looked Logan in the eye, inspecting him. He squinted for even more effect.  
  
“What?”  
  
Virgil began teasing him in a mocking accent. “I made my best efforts on you and you look no better than you did before! Such talent put to waste! Put to shame!”  
  
Logan reached over and smacked him on the arm, causing him to snicker. “What freaking talent? Putting a microphone on?”  
  
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Virgil smirked. “It takes skill, y'know.”  
  
“In that case, I have a talent too.”  
  
“And what's that?”  
  
“Being able to put up with you.”  
  
Now Virgil was the one who did the smacking. “That's not a talent!”  
  
“It takes skill. And by your definition, that's talent.”  
  
Virgil sighed, and before he could answer, he was once again called by Patton. He reluctantly stomped over onto the stage. “What?”  
  
“Speed it up over there!”  
  
“I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying,” he assured Patton as he walked back to Logan. He then shooed him away. “Go, shoo, be free. Go find your dork in shining armor.”  
  
Logan tried to be mad, but instead he laughed and lightly blushed. “That's not what he is!”  
  
“What is he then, your Romeo?” the other smirked. He then began speaking in a high-pitched voice, or at least as high as he could go. “Oh, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo-” He couldn't finish the quote since he was laughing too hard. Logan rolled his eyes, blushing even harder. He put his face in his hand, but not for long. He spotted Roman walking up behind the tech and resisted giggling by putting his hand over his mouth.  
  
“You called?”  
  
Virgil instantly stopped laughing and squealed, jumping out of fright. He looked back at Roman, smirking away. Then at Logan, who completely lost it.  
  
“Was that necessary?” he asked over the laughter.  
  
“I mean, you did call me,” Roman pointed out.  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes. “Do I look like I'm Juliet to you?” Roman was about to answer him, but he was stopped. “Don't- don't answer that.”  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“You know exactly why,” Virgil said, pointing a finger for emphasis. He then made his way back to where the other actors were waiting to get mics on. There weren't very many, at least not yet. “Don't do anything stupid while you're waiting!”  
  
“No promises!” the other two said in sync. Once it was known that he was no longer paying attention to them, Logan grabbed Roman and whisked him to the other side of the stage.  
  
“I think our plan might be compromised.”  
  
“Compromised? What do you mean compromised?” Roman begged.  
  
“He said Patton knows and that he's watching us.”  
  
“How the hell does Patton know?”  
  
“I don't know! I mean, Virgil probably told him after the whole mic box thing, knowing him. But I didn't expect to be, like, punished for it!”  
  
Roman ran his fingers through his hair. “What did you expect? It's Patton!”  
  
Logan sighed, about to answer before Patton's voice boomed through the theater.  
  
“We're doing the balcony scene! Where's the damn balcony?!”  
  
Several people replied with ‘I don't know’, while some shook their head.  
  
One of the techs then replied, “It's still broken from the last time we did the balcony scene!”  
  
“Last time? As in the time Roman fell off of it?”  
  
The others nodded. Patton sighed in frustration.  
  
“How long does it take to fix a damn balcony?!” He glanced at his clipboard. “Fine then. We'll do the sword fight scene. All of you involved, get up here!”  
  
“Crap, that's us,” Roman said, hitting Logan's arm to get his attention.  
  
“No, really?!” He rolled his eyes. “Let’s get on with it then.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on april 15th, 2018!  
> halfway point! things don't stop escalating from here, though, haha ;)

They walked to their places on the stage, situating themselves as they needed while they watched Patton continually rush around. They eventually saw him make it down to the seats.  
  
“Virgil! Mic checks!”  
  
A barely audible sigh was heard from his direction before he switched them on. He did one at a time until he got every person done. He signaled that to Patton, then ignored him as he began talking to the actors.  
  
In that time, Virgil began his next part of his plan.  
  
He slowly moved the volume dials down for Roman and Logan. They wouldn't notice until they tried talking again.  
  
Roman said his lines first, which Virgil could hear. But Patton couldn't, and he made it known.  
  
“Roman!”  
  
“What?” he asked, his voice now going through the speakers. Virgil snickered as he spectated the scene.  
  
“Speak in the mic clearly next time,” Patton warned.  
  
“I did!” Roman protested, but he was ignored. Patton told them to run the scene where they left off. The next one to speak was Logan, but the same thing happened to him. Courtesy of Virgil, but they didn't know that.  
  
He resisted laughing out loud as Patton scolded Logan.  
  
“Are you sure these things are working?” Logan asked. His voice rang clearly through the speakers, unlike before.  
  
Patton pointed up. “I think they are. Run it again from the top.”  
  
Sighs in protest could be heard from all around, but everyone did what they were told. Roman and Logan got in their respective places again, then began the scene. Virgil watched from his chair, hand delicately hovering above the dial. He watched Roman open his mouth, about to speak, and turned the dial down again.  
  
He heard Patton getting mad and resisted laughing out loud. Instead, he snickered as he hid his mouth with his hand. He was about to turn the dials back up before they could talk, but then he got an idea. He decided to keep the volume of the mics low.  
  
From what Virgil could hear over his own snickering, they had attempted to speak their protests at Patton to no avail. The director had ended up coming up there on the stage. He inspected Roman first, looking for where his mic was. As he was, Virgil turned the volume up.  
  
A bit louder than what it was at normally.  
  
Patton’s voice boomed through the theater, scaring pretty much everyone. Roman had flinched away from Patton, knocking into Logan beside him.  
  
Unfortunately for Logan, he was distracted and got pushed over by Roman’s force onto the ground. A loud laugh was heard from the wings, which the others found to be from Virgil.  
  
Patton spoke up. “Virgil!”  
  
“Yeah?” he asked through his laughter. He tried not to look at Logan, knowing that if he did, he'd begin laughing hard again.  
  
“Have the mics been working this entire time?”  
  
He nodded. “Yup, I'm pretty sure it's just them.”  
  
They knew that wasn't true, so they scowled at Virgil from behind Patton. But once he turned back around, they stopped. He faced Virgil one last time. “You know what, I think we all need a break, even though we haven't done hardly anything!” He shook his head and sighed, then spoke one last time before leaving. “Get the swords distributed out if they aren't already.”  
  
Virgil turned in his chair to watch Patton walk past him offstage. Once he did, one of the other two took the opportunity to lower the chair on him. He slowly sank down, causing them to snicker.  
  
“Really?” he scolded them.  
  
They walked away snickering, not answering him. He slumped in his chair, reluctantly. As he waited for the break to end, he got an idea.  
  
It would work. But not until rehearsal ended.  
  
Until it did, the rest of it included several instances of finding prop boxes and the lowering of his chair. There was one time where he went to sit down, but it was lowered by Roman and Logan when he wasn't looking. So, he sat harder on it than he wanted to. He let out a tiny yelp of pain as a result, which caused some of the other techs to giggle.  
  
He knew then and there that he was going to go through with what he planned earlier.  
  
At some point, rehearsal had ended, for him at least. As he cleaned up, Patton was talking to the actors. He got done cleaning fairly quickly, then went back to the dressing rooms.  
  
No one questioned him, thank goodness. He gave the room one last glance, seeing and hearing no one else, then went to work.  
  
He found the bags that the other two had their normal clothes in. He recognized Roman’s first, then found Logan's right next to it. “Perfect.”  
  
He opened Roman's first, taking the first piece of clothing he saw, which was his pants. He emptied whatever was in the pockets and put those items back in the bag. He draped the pants over his arm and moved onto Logan’s bag. His first find from it was a shirt, which he took and put on top of the pants. He zipped the bag up, tightened his grip on the clothes, and hauled it out of the room.  
  
He knew where he wanted to hide them. The exact spot where Roman put everything he hid at: the green room. He walked in there and put the clothing in a fairly inconspicuous spot, then left. He took only a couple steps before Roman passed by him without suspicion. He decided to follow behind Roman as he made his way back to where Virgil was just at, grabbing his bag and going to change. Virgil hid from him, just in time for Logan to appear right afterwards. He watched from his view as much as he could.  
  
Logan hadn't entered a changing stall yet since he just got there, but Roman was already in one. He put changed out of his prince costume and put on his shirt first, then went to get his pants.  
  
Of course, they weren't there.  
  
He looked around frantically for them, digging through his bag and everything. In desperation, he hopped up once to look over the stall door, seeing Logan about to go to the one next to him.  
  
“Hey, Logan!” he whispered from behind the door. He repeated himself, slightly louder. “Logan!”  
  
The other actor turned. “Yes?”  
  
“I have a teeny tiny situation I might need help with.”  
  
Logan sighed. “What?”  
  
“I lost my pants!”  
  
“You what?!”


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on april 16th, 2018!

“I lost my pants. Are you deaf?” Roman asked matter-of-factly. He found the bench in the stall and stood on it to look over the door and down at Logan.  
  
“No, my hearing is perfectly fine. But that’s not important,” Logan dismissed the subject with a wave of his hand. “How did you lose your pants of all things?”  
  
“I don't know, but can I borrow yours to find them?” Roman pleaded.  
  
The two looked at each other in a battle of wills until Logan finally gave in. “Fine. Hold on.” He went into the stall next to Roman and got his own pants out of his bag, then flopped them over the wall between them. “Don't know if they'll fit you.”  
  
“I don't care,” Roman said as he put them on, hopping on one leg and almost falling over. “They'll work.” He got them on successfully after that. Despite the legs being too long, it was a good fit. He walked out of the stall after putting on his shoes. “Alright, I'm going to go look for my stuff now.” He was about to put his hands fully in the pockets before they hit something. He pulled it out find Logan’s wallet. He turned around and held it above him, attempting to reach over the door. “You want this?”  
  
After a moment, Logan took it. “Yes, I do.” Roman nodded and was about to walk away again before Logan called him. “Um, Roman?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“My shirt’s gone.”  
  
“Wait, what do you mean?”  
  
“I mean it's gone. No longer here. Erased from existence. Well, not actually, but you get the point.”  
  
“Okay then,” Roman said, disinterested. “What does that have to do with me?”  
  
Logan scoffed. “Give me my pants back!”  
  
“No one's gonna see you if you stay in there! Just wait. I'll be super quick,” Roman said as he ran off. “I'll look for your shirt on the way.”  
  
Logan had jumped up on the bench inside the stall, looking over the door to try getting him to stop. He wasn't fast enough. He sighed and sat there thinking about where it could be. And if someone would take it in the first place. He didn't know who at first, but then figured it out.  
  
And on cue, he made his appearance there in front of the door.  
  
“Hello, Logan.”  
  
He sneered. “Give it. Now.”  
  
“Give what?” Virgil asked nonchalantly.  
  
Logan hit his hands on the door in frustration. “You know damn well what. My shirt. Give it to me.”  
  
“Oh, but, my good sir, I have not taken it. I know not of its whereabouts.” Virgil raised a finger. “Ah, how about instead, we talk about another subject? You know, I recently had a dream about something.”  
  
Logan rolled his eyes. He was reciting part of an argument with his and Roman’s characters. Or at least trying to. Either way, Logan knew the part too well, so he played into it. “Ah, well, so did I.”  
  
“Really? What was yours?”  
  
Logan became more serious. “That dreamers often lie. Give me my damn shirt back!” He slammed his hand on the door for effect. “I know you have it!”  
  
Virgil smirked. “You gotta find it first, buddy boy.” He slowly backed away until he almost tripped on something, then he turned around and continued walking away.  
  
“Too late!” he said from the other side of the room. “I'm going, I’m gone, I'm out of- gah!” He ran into Roman as he was talking. He looked him over once he regained his focus. “Wait, you found your pants?”  
  
“No, I borrowed Logan's. Why are you asking? Did you take them?”  
  
“No-”  
  
“Yes!” Logan interjected.  
  
“You have no proof,” Virgil smirked.  
  
“You just said I had to find my shirt, and you asked him about finding the pants! How would you know that if you didn't hide them?!”  
  
“Okay, I'll admit it. I did hide them. You caught me. I'll make a deal with you because of that.”  
  
Logan was intrigued. “Go on.”  
  
Roman looked at Logan, then back at Virgil. “You're not tricking us?”  
  
“Not at all.”  
  
“Alright then, what is this deal of yours?”  
  
Virgil raised his eyebrows. “I'll tell you where your stuff is.”  
  
“Really?”  
  
“That's it?”  
  
“If!” he continued, pausing for effect.  
  
“There's always an ‘if’. Why. Why? Why does there have to be an ‘if’?” Logan asked in desperation.  
  
The tech continued, ignoring him. “As I was saying. I'll tell you only on one condition.”  
  
“We kinda got that already. What is this condition of yours?” Roman begged.  
  
“You catch me before I make it to Patton.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on april 20th, 2018!

The two were in disbelief, but any attempt of protesting was squashed as soon as Virgil bolted away.  
  
“I'm gonna get him, and when I do, I'm gonna kill him,” Logan said as he fumbled furiously with the latch on the door. He stopped for a second. “Roman, give me my pants back!”  
  
“Wait, why? I need them!”  
  
“Not as much as me,” Logan said, opening the door just enough to reveal his face. “You've got a shirt on. I have nothing!”  
  
“Really, you got nothing on?” Roman asked jokingly. “Kinda unflattering, but kinda not at the same time.”  
  
“You know what I meant. Now is not the time for...that sort of thing!” Logan scolded as he waved his hand at the smirking Roman. “Give them, now.”  
  
“Fine, fine,” Roman agreed. He unbuttoned them and was about to toss them over the door, but hesitated. “Wait, you're not the only one who wants revenge on him!”  
  
Logan reached up over the door and grabbed the pants anyway. “Don't care. I want them back.” He put them on casually, taking his time.  
  
“Fine then. I guess that means I'll catch Virgil first…”  
  
Logan stopped taking his time and started rushing to put them on before opening the door. “You wouldn't.”  
  
“I can, and I am,” Roman said as he bolted out of the room. Logan soon followed him.  
  
Virgil wasn't that far ahead. He had decided to wait once he didn’t hear anyone following behind him. But as soon as he heard their familiar bickering, he began running again.  
  
Over in Patton’s realm, he was gathering his things and getting ready to leave. He turned his attention to the stage for a split second and saw a flash of purple hair and black clothes run from one end to the other, giggling as he went by. He avoided the prop box in the middle of his path by hopping over it.  
  
Virgil.  
  
He almost would have ignored him if it wasn't for the other two.  
  
A flash of red soon followed him, yelling his name. He too jumped over the box, almost landing the wrong way.  
  
Roman.  
  
Patton swore he only saw him wearing a shirt.  
  
After him, another figure ran by yelling Roman’s name. He was going full speed but then tripped over the prop box in his fervor. He didn’t fall flat on the floor, but the impact was enough to knock his glasses off onto the floor.  
  
It gave Patton enough time to recognize that it was the shirtless Logan.  
  
After being handed his glasses by one of the few techs still there, he bolted off after the other two, hollering Roman's name again as he scolded him for ditching him. A few giggles came out of the people on stage who saw the whole charade.  
  
Patton sighed. They were like little kids.  
  
He watched them as they ran around, anticipating when they would do something stupid. He saw Virgil run across the front row between the seats and stage and back up to it again. Roman and Logan followed suit, with Logan tripping Roman so he could finally get ahead of him. Roman went down with a dramatic yell. He ended up pulling Logan down with him as vengeance. His yelp of pain brought Virgil back into the aisle, laughing as soon as he saw them. He walked close enough to them that he was within Logan’s reach. He grabbed Virgil’s leg and pulled him down before he could run off again. Yelling ensued between them.  
  
“Let me go!”  
  
“I caught you fair and square!”  
  
“You tripped me!”  
  
“Tripping is fair game! Roman did it!”  
  
“Just because he did it, doesn't mean it's right!”  
  
“Either way, we caught you. Now give us back our stuff!” Roman demanded.  
  
“You didn't catch me. I was tripped!”  
  
“Fine then, I'll catch you.” Roman got up, which in turn made Virgil fight out of Logan's grasp and up on his feet. He ran off to avoid him, which made Roman follow him. But in the time he had to take to side-step Logan, Virgil had gotten pretty far.  
  
He turned around to see if they were behind him. They were, but they weren't after him. They instead were staring behind him with mouths wide open.  
  
“What in the hell are you two looking at?” he asked.  
  
Patton cleared his throat, making Virgil turn around and jump. He had his hands on his hips in a scolding manner. Virgil opened his mouth in an attempt to defend himself, but Patton raised his hand to stop him.  
  
“More importantly, what in the hell are you three doing?”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on april 30th, 2018!

The three looked at each other, then began to speak all at once. Patton raised his hand to stop them again.  
  
“One at a time. One at a time, you heathens!” he scolded them. “Virgil, you're first.”  
  
“Hell yeah!”  
  
“What?! No!”  
  
“Oh, come on.”  
  
“Shut it, or you two won't get a chance at all to speak!”  
  
They stopped their protesting and waited for Virgil to speak. He was about to, but then Patton interrupted again.  
  
“On second thought, I'll let them explain their side first.”  
  
Virgil’s eyes went wide at hearing that. “Wait, why?!”  
  
Patton smirked to himself. “I'd like to know their reasoning for running around with only half of their clothes on.”  
  
Logan and Roman perked up once he said that.  
  
“Oh, we could totally tell you!” Roman said with a sneer meant for Virgil. The tech merely stuck his tongue out at him in return.  
  
“He stole Roman’s pants and my shirt,” Logan explained. “He said he would tell us where they were if we caught him before he got to you.”  
  
“And you didn’t!” Virgil piped in.  
  
“We grabbed your leg. It counts!” Roman said, pointing for emphasis.  
  
“It does not!”  
  
“All in favor of counting it, raise your hand,” Logan announced. Roman and him were the only ones. Patton glared at them, but they continued on anyway. “All opposed?” Virgil raised his hand.  
  
“The votes are in, we won. Hah!” Roman boasted.  
  
“How about instead of considering it catching me, we consider it tripping me? Because that's what it was!”  
  
The three began bickering back and forth initially between the subject of whether or not it was considered tripping, but then moved on to other things. Patton had to eventually step in.  
  
“Enough. Enough!” he practically yelled. He got them to stop and look at him. “Virgil, why'd you hide their clothes?”  
  
“Payback! They were messing with me, and you said I could do anything as long as it didn't interfere with rehearsal!”  
  
“We wouldn't have messed with you if you didn't tell Patton about it in the first place!” Logan interjected.  
  
“I wouldn't have said anything if you told me not to!”  
  
Roman gave Logan an ‘I told you so’ look. “My point exactly. You had one job, Logan. One!”  
  
“I would have remembered that if you weren't so distracting!” Logan defended, slightly blushing once he said that.  
  
Roman’s eyes went wide, Virgil smirked despite attempting not to, and Patton looked confused as ever.  
  
“Distracting how?”  
  
Logan instantly went red and looked down, avoiding their eyes. Virgil in the meantime let out a huge snort.  
  
“Was it those broad shoulders of his, huh, Logan?” he teased. He now got Roman to start blushing a bit.  
  
“Shut up!” Logan demanded, making Virgil snicker even more.  
  
“You know I'm right!”  
  
“I said shut up!” Logan said, taking a step in his direction. Patton stepped in between the two.  
  
“Logan, fighting isn't gonna get you anywhere. Just let it go,” he advised. “Now Virgil-”  
  
“Here we go.”  
  
“Where are their clothes at?”  
  
“In the green room,” he said matter-of-factly.  
  
Patton nodded. “Alright, you two, go on. Go get them. You know where your clothes are at now.” He flicked his hand for effect.  
  
They left, leaving Patton and Virgil together. Once they were far enough away, Patton turned to him.  
  
“Was that really necessary to do them?”  
  
He giggled. “I thought it was.”  
  
“Of course you did.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on may 17th, 2018!  
> during editing i realized this looked way shorter than it is because the paragraphs were in big chunks so i tried to fix that

The rehearsals from then on would almost be back to the way they were before.  
  
Almost.  
  
In their typical fashion, Roman, Logan, and Virgil messed around with each other. The things they did weren't quite as extreme as before, since they learned their lesson from doing that. But that didn't mean they wouldn't push their limits.  
  
The things they did included, but were not limited to: Virgil swapping the stuff in Logan and Roman’s bags, Roman distracting Virgil as Logan relocated his car to a new parking spot, Virgil getting mad at them once he found that out, Virgil chasing them through the parking lot as a result, hiding prop boxes, Virgil distracting Roman so much that he fell off of the balcony again, Logan throwing a sword at Virgil and successfully scaring him, Virgil attempting to copy him but scaring Roman instead, Roman retaliating at them but actually getting Patton, Patton getting mad at them for that, Virgil tripping the other two anytime they passed by him, Virgil's chair being hidden multiple times throughout rehearsals, Roman and Logan shrink wrapping Virgil's car, Virgil chasing them through the parking lot again, and Roman and Logan the next day putting the shrink wrap on his chair. The whole shebang ended with a huge chase scene that resulted in Logan, Virgil, and several cast members nearly falling off the stage if they hadn't already, and Roman falling off of the balcony for a third time because lost his balance trying to climb up and hide in it.  
  
Patton didn't know about the last thing, though. He had left right after the rehearsal ended, which made all hell break loose. Despite all of the insanity happening in a little less than a week, there was some light at the end of the tunnel.  
  
Not only was the opening night coming up, but there was a surprise from Patton. He would announce it the day before the opening towards the end of the rehearsal.  
  
He gathered everyone, from the cast to the crew, and had them sit in the audience seats as he situated himself on the stage. During this, Roman and Logan managed to sit next to each other while Virgil sat behind them. He kept poking them as they talked, but stopped once Logan was about to haul off and smack him. He snickered as he got glared at.   
  
Once Logan turned around, Virgil put one of his feet up on the chair by Logan's head and tapped him with the edge of his shoe. Without hesitation, Logan turned back around and punched his foot off, making him yelp. Roman had to resist snickering loudly. Before Virgil could verbalize his protests, Patton began his speech. He projected his voice enough to where a microphone was not needed.  
  
“Guys, gals, and non-binary pals! As you all may know, tomorrow night is a special event; the all important opening night of our fine production!” A reluctant cheer came from everyone, but they were still genuinely interested. Patton continued. “And to celebrate this event, I have decided to host an informal dinner. Everything will be paid for, so it is only a matter of where we go. Suggestions?”  
  
Multiple places got called out, but once one person suggested Denny’s, everyone agreed on it. Patton would announce that that's where they would go, and said everyone would have to get there on their own, but they would wait until everyone got there before they ordered. With that, he dismissed everyone. They all got up at once and created a huge crowd.  
  
Once the crowd thinned out as they moved closer outside, Virgil spotted Logan ahead of him, without Roman. He hurried over to him and tapped his shoulder, making him jump. When Logan saw who it was, he groaned.  
  
“What do you want?”  
  
“I got an idea,” Virgil grinned, “and it involves a certain person known as you.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on may 29th, 2018!

Logan let out a huge sigh. “You and your fabulous ideas. They never really go to plan, do they?”  
  
“Well...no, not always,” Virgil admitted, stopping as he thought of the times Logan had mentioned. But once he was done, he immediately rushed to catch up to Logan as he was walking off on him. “But that doesn't matter! I got you with me this time, so it's sure to work.”  
  
“Depends. What is it that you want me to do?”  
  
Virgil grinned. “Okay, so, you know about the whole dinner thing tomorrow, obviously?” Logan nodded, letting Virgil continue. “Well, we don't all have to specifically sit together, which means you can sit with whoever you want, wherever you want.”  
  
“What does that have to do with me?”  
  
“I'm getting there. I was gonna suggest having you ask Roman to sit with you.”  
  
Logan scoffed. “For what reason? Like a date thing?”  
  
Virgil clapped his hands together and pointed at the other. “Exactly.”  
  
“No, I'm not gonna do it.”  
  
“Why not?” the tech whined. “Aren't you interested in him in that way?”  
  
“I'm not telling you anything more,” Logan informed. “I did that once, no, wait, twice, and look where it got me.”  
  
“Then I'll just get Roman to do it. He would want to.”  
  
“You can say that all you want, but I bet you once he hears my side of the story, he'll agree with me.”  
  
“How do you know that?”  
  
“I...just do. But, forget that. I want this to progress on its own, Virgil. I don't want you to help it go along.”  
  
Virgil sighed. “I've done that before, and look how it turned out. You missed an opportunity because you never took a chance.”  
  
“That was how long ago now. Why are you bringing it up?”  
  
“Because it's still relevant. Fine, you may not want to make a move. I won't push you. But I am gonna get you on at least one date one way or another.”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Why not?” he said nonchalantly. He started walking off.  
  
“Virgil. Please don't. For me.”  
  
“Fine, I won't. Not until the play is done and over with.”  
  
“I can accept that. You promise me?”  
  
Virgil nodded. He wasn't going to do that. Not exactly.  
  
He was planning initially on telling Roman almost the exact same thing as he did Logan. But now, he found a way to avoid the blame being put on him.  
  
He wouldn't tell Roman what he wanted him to do, but he would definitely put the idea in his head.

\---

On opening night, they had one final dress rehearsal that morning. And it began at the crack of dawn. Virgil and, surprisingly, Roman would reluctantly be there at the correct time, but a lot of the others, including Logan, wouldn't be. Which meant there would be hardly any interruptions while setting up, and, more importantly, no one to stop Virgil from talking to Roman.  
  
He spotted the actor on the other end of the stage, sitting in the soundboard operator’s chair on his phone. Virgil decided to walk over quickly, but not too quick to where he would bring attention to himself. He lowered the chair on Roman, which caused him to finally look up. He saw the smirking Virgil and smacked his arm.  
  
“Was that really necessary?”  
  
The tech snickered. “Yes. Now, I have a question for you.”  
  
Roman crossed one leg over the other as he stared at Virgil. “Go on.”  
  
“So I suggested this to Logan, but he squashed it instantly. I was thinking that at the dinner tonight, you and him to go on kinda like a mini date. You'd ask him first, of course. I mean yeah, everyone else is there, but like, you guys would sit together and kinda be on your own the whole time.”  
  
Roman nodded, considering the idea. He was interested. “Why did Logan reject it?”  
  
“He didn't really say. Well, he did, but it was really just because of me specifically and what I’ve done before to both of you guys. But he insisted that if you knew what his response was, then you’d agree with him.”  
  
“I see where he's coming from. But, at the same time, I want to prove him wrong.” Roman continued thinking about it for a bit. “I'll do it.”  
  
“Really, you would?”  
  
He nodded. “Yeah. This whole thing of ours has got to move forward somehow, doesn't it?”  
  
“Only if you want it to,” Virgil replied. “Which I'm assuming you do. Right?”  
  
Roman took a deep breath. When he spoke, his voice suddenly shook in doubt. “I do. I wish I knew if Logan does. I hope he does.”  
  
“I do too, man. I do too.”  
  
Roman didn't know where this sudden doubting of his was coming from, but he didn't like it one bit.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on may 30th, 2018!

The rest of the morning before the rehearsal started was spent by Roman thinking about two things: how and when to ask Logan out, and the future of them two. The twinge of doubt from earlier gradually grew into overthinking the whole thing in the worst ways possible. He tried to ignore it, tried to get past it and rehearse as hard as he would normally, but he couldn't. He just couldn't shake it out of his head. He needed to talk about it. Something, anything to get rid of it.  
  
He figured to go to Virgil since he had an idea of what Roman was thinking. He didn't know when he could, however. Virgil was usually distracted talking to Logan or doing something he was ordered to do by Patton. If he ever got a free chance, Roman never found out.  
  
He began to get nervous and started pacing.  
  
This was not what he wanted to be thinking about today. He wanted to focus on the play, enjoy the anticipation of opening, and maybe do something with Logan. Not doubt their whole thing, whatever it was.  
  
He eventually saw Virgil sit in his chair by the soundboard. He quickly made his way over, startling Virgil as he did so.  
  
“Woah, dude, you good?” the tech asked.  
  
Roman shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. He kept taking deep breaths, but they didn't really help. “To be honest, no, I'm not. Ever since we talked earlier, I have had doubts about this whole thing. I don't know why I do, but I don't like it and I want to get rid of it.”  
  
“And you want me to help you with that?”  
  
“I just wanna know what you think I should do. You told me to do it, so I'm going to. I'm not sure how you want it done, so I'm asking for clarification.”  
  
“Do it however you want to,” Virgil told him with a shrug. “I may suggest these ideas, but I have no clue exactly how to go through with them. I mean, I could tell you what I think would work, but I don't know if it will or not.”  
  
Roman sighed. “Nah, it's fine. I think I can figure it out.”  
  
“You sure?”  
  
“Yeah,” the actor replied nervously. “I'm sure.”  
  
He wasn't, really, and Virgil could tell that. But before he could question him, Patton called for Roman to talk to him about a scene. Virgil waved him off, then sat and relaxed for a minute.  
  
Until his phone went off.  
  
He groaned in frustration then turned it on. The notification showed a text from Logan. He opened it and read the text out loud to himself.  
  
“‘I need to talk to you about a certain thing relating to Roman. Meet me outside as soon as you can.’ Oh no.” Virgil slumped in his seat. Just when he got done with one, he had to deal with the other. Not that he minded, but it did get a bit tiring.  
  
He decided to look around for Roman before he left in case he’d notice him. He rolled his chair over enough to where he could see the stage, but didn't see him there.  
  
_Crap._  
  
He rolled back to the soundboard and got up, making his way backstage. Again, he didn't find Roman.  
  
_Double crap. Where the hell is he?!_  
  
He walked back to the soundboard, trying to think of any place where he'd be. More importantly, if anyone knew where he'd be.  
  
_Wait a second. Patton exists. Of course he would know._  
  
He rushed out onto the stage, startling the few actors on there. He gave a shy grin as an apology and then turned to look for Patton, who he thankfully found quickly.  
  
“Hey, Pat!”  
  
The director turned around and faced him. “Yeah? What do you need?”  
  
“Did you see where Roman went by any chance?”  
  
“I did, actually! He came up and asked me if Logan was here yet, and I told him he was. He had been running behind, so that's why he was late. Then he thanked me and he's making his way outside now,” he said as he pointed towards the door. Virgil saw the outline of him as clear as day.  
  
“Damn it,” he muttered to himself. He hopped off of the stage quickly and began running towards Roman. “Thanks for telling me, by the way,” he called back at Patton.  
  
“No problem,” Patton returned, barely loud enough for him to hear.  
  
He wasn't so much focused on getting a reply, but getting to Roman in time. He booked it in his direction, even calling his name a couple of times to try getting his attention. But it didn't work.  
  
Roman made it to the door and closed it before Virgil got there. Virgil could have very well opened the door, but something on the other side was blocking it and preventing him from doing so.  
  
“No! Damn it, Roman!” he said, banging on the door a couple times. He sighed in frustration and hit the door again. No success. He ran his hands through his hair.  
  
Everything felt like it was about to go to hell. This was not what he wanted at all.


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on june 12th, 2018!

Virgil slumped against the door, still standing somewhat upright. He was still breathing kind of heavily after running, but he attempted to quiet himself as he listened for voices on the other side of the door. “Don't screw it up, Roman,” he muttered.  
  
He could hear the conversation fairly clearly when he pressed his ear against the door. He didn't seem to have missed much; they only started talking after he began listening.  
  
“Roman? What are you doing here?”  
  
“I, uh, came to ask you something.”  
  
“Can it wait? I kind of have to talk with someone about something important right now.”  
  
“Well, I would, but it's about tonight, though.”  
  
Virgil hit his hand on the door yet again. “No, not now, you idiot!” he muttered. He tried the door handle once more, but it wouldn't budge. He continued listening, even though he wasn't sure if he wanted to.  
  
He heard that sigh of Logan's that he knew all too well. “What is it, then? And be quick.”  
  
“Right. So, you know about the dinner tonight for the whole cast?”  
  
“Quite well, yes.” Virgil could faintly hear Logan's doubt in his voice. “What are you on about, anyway?”  
  
“I'm getting there, I'm getting there. I was thinking about something between us two that we could do.”  
  
Logan hesitated for a bit. “What do you have in mind?”  
  
“No, no, _no_ , damn it!” Virgil banged on the door even more rapidly this time. ”Logan, you know what he has in mind. I told you the same thing!” he rambled to himself. He hit the door some more. “You know all too fucking well! Get out of it while you can!”  
  
“I was thinking...maybe we could, like, sit together as kind of a date thing?”  
  
Virgil drew a shocked breath. He didn't want to hear his answer now; he just wanted to get out there and talk to him. He hit the door several times, louder and harder than he did before to hopefully get the point across.  
  
It kinda worked.  
  
“What is that banging?” Logan asked, avoiding the question.  
  
“Nothing, nothing,” Roman persisted, blocking the door even more. But he got pushed out of the way.  
  
The door opened and revealed Virgil on the other side.  
  
“Virgil?”  
  
“Logan!”  
  
“Virgil!” Roman scolded, but quickly changed his tone to something nicer. “We're kinda in the middle of discussing something here.”  
  
“Roman, he's fine. What do you need, Virgil?”  
  
“Remember that thing you wanted to talk to me about? The thing you texted me about?”  
  
Logan blanked out. He knew all too well what Virgil meant, but he really didn't want to bring that up in front of Roman. “I do, but can that wait?”  
  
“You made it out like it was important, man! I came as fast as could. Would have been here sooner had I not been interrupted by a certain someone…”  
  
“Okay, look,” Roman defended, “if it makes it any better, you can talk about it now. I don't mind.”  
  
“Um, I do. It's kind of a personal thing that Virgil would really know about, not you, and I really don't want to disclose it to anyone else.”  
  
Virgil scoffed. “It's about him anyways, Lo. He's gonna figure it out at some point in time.”  
  
“Can you just respect the fact that I don't want him here while I'm talking about liking him in a more intense way than he already knows?!” Logan shouted before realizing what he said. He slapped his hand on his mouth, but there was no point; what he said was already out there, and he couldn't take it back.  
  
Virgil let out an audible gasp while Roman's eyes widened in shock. Neither of them could believe what he said. And before they could say anything in response, Logan was bolting out of the door.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on july 14th, 2018!  
> if you've been keeping track of the posting dates, this is when they start to get super spaced out lmao. summer hit and i just felt unmotivated to do anything if i remember right  
> also! Dee is supposed to be deceit/janus lol. when i had the original idea, it was right after his character was introduced, so i wasn't sure how to include him in. ended up making him have a subtle cameo rather than completely involving him but it worked at the time, lol

The shock of it all led to a delayed reaction from the other two.  
  
“Logan, no, wait!”  
  
Virgil ran to the door first, calling Logan's name again as he opened it. Roman was behind him, quietly observing. He wasn't sure what to do.  
  
He stayed inside while Virgil ran out to go looking for Logan. It wasn't long before Patton came to see what they were doing. He didn't seem mad, but rather irritated that the three of them were off doing something less important.  
  
“Roman!” The actor turned around at the sound of his name. “What the hell is going on? Rehearsal is about to start and all three of you are needed! Where's Logan and Virgil?”  
  
On cue, Virgil came running into the doorway, unintentionally throwing himself against it as he breathed heavily. “Hey, Roman, what's going- ah!” He startled himself at seeing Patton. “Patton, what are you doing here? I-I mean, what do you need?”  
  
“I need answers. What has been going on between you three lately?” Patton asked, his tone serious. “Yes, I know about the whole Roman-and-Logan-liking-each-other thing. But is there more than that going on? Haven't you guys figured it out yet?”  
  
“No,” Roman quietly mumbled. “We were trying to, but...I screwed it up.”  
  
“It wasn't you,” Virgil bluntly interrupted. “It was me. If I hadn't tried pushing him to do that stupid idea of mine, he wouldn't be doubting everything he ever thought of about Roman until this point. If I hadn't pushed him to say what he did earlier, he wouldn't have ran off. Now he's gone off to who the hell knows where. I doubt if he'll want to talk to me, or anyone for that matter.”  
  
Patton shook his head. “I'll fix this. I'll get him to talk to me. I haven't done anything bad, so I should be fine.”  
  
“No, Patton, don't-”  
  
“Why not? I don't see _you_ guys doing anything productive about it.”  
  
“Patton!”  
  
“He has a point,” Roman muttered out of the blue. “We _aren't_ doing anything. We're just arguing about what to do, and that's clearly not accomplishing anything.”  
  
“Exactly,” Patton said with a nod. “Now, you two go back inside. I'll deal with Logan.” He started to walk outside.  
  
“What do you suggest we do in the meantime?” Virgil asked, making Patton stop halfway through the doorway.  
  
He turned around, rather reluctantly. “Do a sound check on everything or something. Just keep everyone busy until I get back.” With that, he walked out to find Logan.  
  
Virgil watched him, then sighed as soon as he was out of sight. “That's real helpful.” He started walking back to the inside of the theater with Roman in tow.  
  
Most people were on the stage sitting, while others were walking around or in the back. With help from Roman, he managed to get everyone there on the stage to listen him. He decided to stand where Patton usually did when he directed and began speaking.  
  
“Alright, listen up freaks, geeks, and those in between. Since our wonderful leader known as Patton has had to deal with an unforeseen issue regarding our local nerd known as Logan, there's going to be a change in plans for the time being. That change means I'm going to momentarily run things until his return.” Curious looks came from all around. “And one thing he has told me to do is to run a sound check on everything.” A small groan came from several audience members. “Yes, I understand your complaints. But, it's Patton’s orders, not mine. Now, places!”  
  
Some people, mostly the set crew, moved and started getting things ready. Those who stayed behind had questions. “Virgil!”  
  
“What?” the tech replied to the unknown voice.  
  
“What are we going to do about Logan's lines?”  
  
Virgil sighed. “He's got an understudy, doesn't he?”  
  
“You called?” Another voice came from the crowd. The people moved out of the way to reveal a figure standing triumphantly in the middle of them wearing Logan’s normal costume.  
  
“Yes, Dee, we did. Now are you done prancing around? We need to get rehearsing!”  
  
“I am. You don't need to be so bossy,” the other smarted off nonchalantly.  
  
“Be glad he isn't Patton,” Roman butted in. His sudden appearance made Dee jump, which caused a small cackle from Virgil before he hurried them up.  
  
As he continued ordering everyone around, he kept hoping Patton would show up. Not because he wanted to stop what he was doing, although that would have been nice.  
  
No, it was because he hoped Patton would return successful.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on september 3rd, 2018!

It took Patton a while to find Logan.  
  
When he did, he saw the actor sitting against a wall on the side of the building. He had pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, looking blankly at the ground. Patton couldn't see from his point of view the tears that were slowly trickling down Logan’s face.  
  
He figured to approach Logan quietly and slowly. He didn't want to startle him, and he definitely didn't want to make him uncomfortable.  
  
He quietly walked in front of him. He looked down with his hands on his hips at Logan, who looked up at him in return after barely hearing him walk up.  
  
Logan broke the silence. “Patton?”  
  
“The one and only.”  
  
“Why...why are you here?” he sniffed.  
  
“I found out what was going on,” Patton replied softly as he squatted down to Logan’s eye level. “I'm concerned about you, buddy. You don't just run off like that without reason.”  
  
Logan broke the eye contact and looked at the ground again. “Yeah, I don't. You're right.”  
  
Patton took a deep breath. “Did you have a reason?”  
  
All Logan did was nod. Patton gave him one look, then moved to his side. “Mind if I sit next to you?”  
  
“No, you can,” Logan faintly replied.  
  
Patton sat down. The two were silent for a while, but then Patton spoke up.  
  
“Logan, what's going on with you?”  
  
He sighed. “I'm just...getting reminded of something...I didn't want to be reminded of any time soon.”  
  
“And what would that be?” Patton asked casually. He quickly added, “If you don't mind telling me, that is.”  
  
Logan shrugged. “Might as well tell you anyways. So you know how Virgil and I have been friends since high school, right?”  
  
“I do.”  
  
“Well, back then, the same exact thing pretty much happened between us. He went against my wishes...and it snowballed from there.”  
  
“How?”  
  
“There was this guy that I had liked for a while. I...didn't say anything to anyone about it for the longest time. The first person I did decide to say something to was Virgil. His response was pretty much the same exact thing as when he found out I liked Roman. He told me to escalate things and make moves right away. I didn't want to do that, so, I told him, making sure to enforce that I didn't want any pressure to do so from him. And he laid off of it.”  
  
“That didn’t last very long, did it?” Patton teased.  
  
Logan let out a small snort. “Not really. After we had been talking for a while, Virgil suggested, y'know, actually asking him out. He had this whole grand idea about it, and I told him it was unnecessary. But, as usual, he didn't listen. Instead, he went to the guy and told him to do the same thing he told me to do...Like he did with Roman.”  
  
“How'd you find that out?”  
  
“Well, I agreed to it, not knowing the intentions behind it. But then it came up during the date itself. He told me what went on. I had gotten mad, but not at him. I was mad at Virgil. Despite that, he still asked why I had gotten mad. He took it as me not appreciating his efforts of making the date and all that. I told him that wasn't it at all and that I was mad at Virgil for trying to rush things that I didn't want to be rushed. He said that he didn't think things were being rushed, but if they were, then we should probably talk about it sooner or later. Then he got up and left...I thought about following him, but I didn't. Part of me regretted it, but I knew that wasn't what I needed.”  
  
“Exactly. If he couldn't see that you were being made uncomfortable, then you don't need him,” Patton chimed in rather aggressively. He then immediately apologized. “Sorry for being so defensive. I get like that about these types of things.”  
  
“Patton, you're totally fine.”  
  
He smiled. “You can continue.”  
  
“The next day, I figured to talk things out with Virgil, but anger got the best of me and I lashed out on him about it. He didn't talk to me for the rest of the day. I don't blame him.” A pause. “I tried talking to the guy again, but he told me that he had thought it over and figured we shouldn't take this any further. I was devastated about that, because I didn't want that happening. I never thought it would. But there I was, ditched by the two people I cared most about at the time. I didn't feel like doing anything after that. I honestly don't...think I did.”  
  
“Well, you clearly fixed things with Virgil,” Patton pointed out. “I assume you did, right?”  
  
“Not right away. I mean, I was waiting for him to apologize, and he was doing the same, but we both realized waiting it out was no good since we were both stubborn about it. So, we talked it out and decided staying mad wasn't the best thing to do. I also made it clear to him that I don't want this to happen again if I liked someone. And he promised he wouldn't do it again.”  
  
“But he did.” Patton noticed Logan's small nod. He sighed, then spoke again, his words clear as day. “Can I ask you something, though?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“Are you gonna forgive him this time?”  
  
Logan was skeptical. “What do you mean?”  
  
“Exactly what I said. This is the second time it's happened. On top of that, you made it clear what you did and didn't want, and he made a promise. If I were you, I wouldn't be so forgiving.”  
  
“Patton, there's no point. He's gonna do what he wants anyways.”  
  
“Because you've let him. Step up and be assertive. Stand your ground. If he thinks you're unfair, so be it. Let him go. If he isn't willing to change after this, to stop doing what he's doing, then he doesn't deserve the right of your friendship. You don't need people like that around you. Again, if I were you, I would have nipped it in the bud then and there the first time around. No sugarcoating, no anything.”  
  
“Listen, I totally would do that if I could. But I can't bring myself to do that to him.”  
  
“You wouldn't have to. I could. Whenever you need it to be done, I'll do it.”  
  
“I can do it perfectly on my own, Patton.”  
  
“Then show me.”


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on september 12th, 2018! (yes i forgot this upon initially posting this on here; i was rushed)

Patton's words had a noticeable air of finality in them. He was serious about this. He really was concerned about Logan. He had cared about him.  
  
Of all people, he would never expect Patton to care.  
  
The way he was as a director pretty much told Logan he was business and nothing but. Of course, he didn't expect him to be completely heartless, but he didn't expect him to be as expressive as he was about something he had just learned about Logan.  
  
The director's voice interrupted his thoughts. “I'd hate to see such a good friendship be lost. You two seem very close. I know you said the thing from before put a strain on you two, but you managed to fix what happened. That took time, didn't it?” Logan nodded, letting him continue. “And...a lot of work, to say the least. Saying something to him could make it worse, or make it better. Who knows. But it doesn't hurt to try it.”  
  
“You got that right,” Logan answered. He sighed, hesitating before he got up. “Thanks for the help, Patton. I appreciate it.”  
  
Patton, who followed him up, shook his head. “No need to thank me. It's just what I do.”  
  
They walked back to the theater in silence, but it wasn't awkward at all. Things were at peace between them.  
  
Inside, however, the same really couldn't be said.  
  
What was supposed to be a run-through of scenes turned into a debate halfway through between Roman and Dee about the way they delivered lines. Virgil had tried getting them to stop but ended up getting involved. Without someone keeping watch over the rest, it became a living hell. And Virgil didn't know how to regain control of it all, so there was nothing he could do to get it to stop.  
  
Patton knew, though, and he definitely had the power to do it.  
  
He re-entered the place with Logan and noticed the chaos on the stage. He got it to stop with one word.  
  
His voice rang through the theater in that commanding way he was known to have but never really used if it wasn't necessary. The commotion had stopped and looked at him walking up to the stage with Logan in tow. Virgil looked the most guilty out of the three. His attempt to explain the situation was quickly interrupted by Patton.  
  
“You three, down here, now.”  
  
“But-”  
  
“Now!”  
  
They began walking off the stage while the rest of the cast looked at Patton expectantly.  
  
“As soon as I'm done with them, we're running things through from the top. That means to start setting things up while you're waiting. Logan, go help them.”  
  
Logan gave a quick nod and walked up there. As soon as he left, the three culprits took a step up to Patton hesitantly. He gave them an annoyed look.  
  
“Explain yourselves. One at a time.”  
  
They exchanged glances, not sure who was going to speak first.  
  
Virgil did out of his own guilt.  
  
“Patton, I swear it was all them and not me! They dragged me into it!”  
  
“Yeah, that's totally what happened,” Dee remarked with an eye roll.  
  
“If you hadn't bothered us, Virgil, we would have sorted ourselves out!” Roman piped in.  
  
“I was left in charge! I wasn't gonna let you guys run roughshod over the place in the middle of rehearsing!”  
  
“Enough arguing!” Patton demanded. “I expected more from you guys. Especially you, Roman. Not only are you a lead role, but you're someone everyone looks up to here. You shouldn't let someone like him get you down about how you act. You got your role for a reason, and you've kept it for a reason. And Virgil, I always thought you were more responsible than that.”  
  
“I am!”  
  
“I am too!” Roman defended.  
  
“I wish I could believe you guys, but it's very hard to do that right now. Besides that, we need to get down to business. Roman, get back there and get yourself ready to do things from the start. Dee, give Logan the costume back. He's ready to perform now. Virgil, make sure everyone has a mic and that it works if you haven't done that already. It's go time, people!”  
  
With an aggressive clap of his hands, Patton summoned the three off to do their things. His organization had been compromised by them, but he wasn't going to keep it that way for long.  
  
He leaves for a few minutes, and they make it a hellhole.  
  
He could fix it. He always did.  
  
As people milled around and got things together, Logan had to face reality. There was no way he could avoid contact with Virgil, so he may as well get it done and over with while he had the time.  
  
He didn't want to end the night mad at his best friend. He wanted to celebrate this thing with him.  
  
After all, Virgil convinced him to go for the role. And, he had inspired him to chase after Roman. Sure, they had their dispute around that, but they could solve it. They did it before and they could do it again.  
  
Just as he was about to go up to the tech, Dee had cut in front of him. Logan almost fell backwards, sighing in irritation. “What do you want?”  
  
“Giving you your precious cargo,” the understudy returned. He handed the clothes to Logan in one hand and the equipment for the mic in the other, then sashayed off.  
  
The actor rolled his eyes, then went to change. Once he did, he walked over to where Virgil usually would be.  
  
Sure enough, he was there. Doing his job, of course, but not really paying much attention since he already knew everything was working as it should. He had been waiting for someone else to come up to him for final adjustments. Logan didn't know what exactly to do to catch his eye, so he cleared his throat awkwardly.  
  
Virgil glanced up from his phone screen, not moving his head. Through his bangs, he recognized Logan. He looked back down and set his phone on the side table next to the soundboard and got up. The gaze he met Logan with was cold and unforgiving. But Logan could sense in his eyes that he had wanted to apologize.  
  
He held the mic up to Virgil's view, vaguely gesturing what he wanted done. “Do you mind…?” he trailed.  
  
The tech shook his head. “Who else would do it? Come here.” Logan stepped forward, handing it off to him. Virgil took it and went to work silently.  
  
“I know it works, before you ask. Dee made a good job of testing it.”  
  
Logan smirked. He had no trouble believing him. He had seen Dee in action before. He was just about as extra as Roman, if not more.  
  
Virgil finished putting the mic on, then awkwardly brushed Logan off. He went back to sitting in his chair by the soundboard. He ignored Logan, expecting him to leave.  
  
But he didn't.  
  
_It's now or never, Logan._  
  
“Virgil, can we talk about earlier?”


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on september 27th, 2018!

Virgil looked up, staring Logan in the eye. He straightened up his slumped position. “What is there to talk about besides you running off?”  
  
“ _Why_ I ran off.”  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes. “I think I know why.”  
  
Logan raised his eyebrows. “Do enlighten me.”  
  
“I fucked up and did the same thing to you I did in high school. I broke the promise I made to you about not doing it again. You don't want to be taken off of your moral high horse, so you came crawling back hoping to make yourself feel good if you made things up with me.”  
  
He didn't say anything to that.  
  
Virgil, who had been staring him in the eye the whole time, finally looked away. He moved his gaze to his hand, which was fidgeting with a useless dial. “I knew it.”  
  
“And? So what if I came back to you?”  
  
“Don't you get it, Logan?! You're not supposed to take me back! I’ve been a shitty friend to you twice now. Most people would ditch someone at this point.”  
  
“I...can't ditch you.”  
  
Virgil definitely was shocked by that, but he wouldn't dare admit it. He continued playing like he wasn’t bothered by it. “And why can't you?”  
  
“We've been friends for too long to get rid of each other that easily. I mean, yeah, things haven't been the same since high school because of that thing. But, you know, you're like a brother to me. It would be a hard thing to lose you. And I know we can prevent that from happening if we just work things out from now on.”  
  
Virgil paused for a minute. Logan was right. He really didn't want to tell him that, but he figured it was the right thing to do. He wanted all of this prevented too; he just didn't say it out loud.  
  
“You're right, Lo. I'll admit that what I did was wrong, and I understand why you acted the way you did about it. I'm sorry for making it come to what it did. I should have learned from the first time around.”  
  
Logan slowly nodded. “I accept your apology. But, it wasn't just you who did this. It was the both of us. I probably overreacted about it all. Yeah, I know I'm allowed to be mad, but that wasn't really anything to be mad about.”  
  
“Yes, it was,” Virgil interrupted bluntly. “I completely disregarded you and your wishes. You shouldn't apologize for that at all.”  
  
“But I feel like I should.”  
  
“You can feel like that all you want. But I am not going to accept the fact that you are wrong in any way.”  
  
Logan rolled his eyes. “I am human, Virgil. I can and do make mistakes. They may be rare, but they still happen.”  
  
The tech shrugged. “Maybe we can agree to disagree. Either way, I think we can both agree we need to let this thing go and go back to how we were before. Being friends is more important than being right.”  
  
Logan nodded. “That is definitely true.”  
  
They stood in awkward silence for a bit, looking at the floor, then at each other, then back away again. They didn't move until Logan's name had been called for a scene. He looked behind him at the stage, then back at Virgil.  
  
“Well, glad we made things up.”  
  
“Same here.”  
  
He really didn't know what to do. He hated being awkward.  
  
“Guess I'll see you later?”  
  
“Of course you will. You can't get rid of me now,” Virgil said with a wink. He got Logan to chuckle.  
  
It took another moment of awkward silence before Logan moved to go to the stage. But not before he gave Virgil a quick hug.  
  
It wasn't long, but it long was enough to mean something to Virgil.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on november 24th, 2018!

The rest of the rehearsal went off without a hitch, as did the performance that night. It pumped everyone up for the celebratory dinner afterwards. There wasn't any animosity between anyone, especially Roman and Logan. They made sure to make _that_ clear to each other before the night ended.  
  
Despite that, they both forgot about the plan for sitting together.  
  
Virgil stopped nagging Logan about it, and Roman just went and completely forgot. Otherwise, he would have made a move. The seating arrangements were now Roman with Patton, and Virgil with Logan.  
  
They weren’t quite sure if it was going to stay this way, though.  
  
Patton, of course, was at the restaurant first thing. He unwillingly brought Roman along when he wanted to stay behind and talk to audience members. Many followed them there anyways.  
  
Logan and Virgil were one of the last few people to arrive. It wasn't their fault; everyone left at the same time Patton did without relaying it to either of them. They knew of the dinner arrangements, but it didn't register to them that those were supposed to be happening once the show ended and everyone had changed out of their costumes.  
  
Despite all of that, they did get to the restaurant, and things ran smoothly.  
  
Well, for a little bit.  
  
Patton had been in the middle of eating before he realized it. He decided to bring up the matter to Roman as nonchalantly as he could have.  
  
“Hey, Ro, not that I mind you sitting here with me, but don't you have someone else you're supposed to be accompanying right now?”  
  
Roman poked at his food. He didn't look the director in the eye. “I could, but after earlier, I don't think it's the best thing to do.”  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“I don't wanna face being awkward and all that. Yeah, we're on good terms, but I just feel like we won't have something to talk about, y'know?”  
  
“That doesn't mean you can't just enjoy each other's company.”  
  
Roman sighed. “I know.”  
  
“Then why don't you do it?”  
  
He shrugged. “I'd rather deal with it later than right now.”  
  
Patton reluctantly nodded. He didn't entirely get Roman's reasoning, but he wasn't going to tell him that to his face. Instead, he ignored it and continued on with what he was doing before.  
  
Or he tried to.  
  
No matter what he could do, he couldn't get it off of his mind. So, he decided to go to Virgil and see if he could try helping him.  
  
Well, he actually went and made Roman go get him.  
  
“Roman, do you mind getting Virgil over here for me?”  
  
The actor glanced up from his phone. “I can, but why do you want me to? Can't you do it?”  
  
“Entertain me, please.”  
  
He let out a dramatic sigh. “Fine.” He got up and took his time walking over to the table where Logan and Virgil were.  
  
They saw him arrive and stopped their conversation. Virgil spoke up first, unintentionally sounding irritated. “What do you want?”  
“I was sent here to summon you, my dear tech boy.”  
  
“By Patton, I'm assuming?”  
  
“Who else?”  
  
Virgil rolled his eyes. “Well then, if I must.” He got up and stood next to Roman, who had just stared at him without moving until Virgil pushed him out of the way.  
  
They headed back to the table, seeing Patton waving them over. He eagerly awaited talking to Virgil.  
  
They arrived, and Virgil sat in Roman's former spot. Roman was about to scoot next to Patton but was stopped in his tracks by the other's arm.  
  
“Nope.”  
  
“What do you mean, ‘nope’? I was here first! And I was still eating!” Roman complained.  
  
“This conversation doesn't involve you,” Patton sassed back. “Go keep Logan company while you're at it. And take your food with you.”  
  
“But-”  
  
“Just do it, dude! What do you got against Logan, anyways?”  
  
“I-I don't...I don't have anything against him at all.”  
  
“Except for a tiny little thing known by the common folk as sexual tension,” Virgil piped in with a snort. He fully began laughing once he saw Roman blushing. Patton attempted to hide his snickering behind his hand, but he wasn't very successful.  
  
“There is no tension of any kind, including sexual!” Roman insisted rather loudly. He slammed his hands on the table for more of an effect, causing nearby people to look at him. He ignored it, but the other two didn't.  
  
“Virgil was just joking, don't worry, Roman,” Patton assured him. “Besides, you'll be fine sitting with him. The world won't end because of it. But, if you still feel uncomfortable after a while, then just come back over here.”  
  
“Patton's right,” Virgil added. “I didn't mean anything serious about it. And, you can always boot me out of your rightful seat if you get too, y'know, ‘bleh’ about the whole thing.”  
  
Roman hesitated, taking what they told him into consideration. “You guys mean it?”  
  
They both vigorously nodded.  
  
“Of course.”  
  
He let out a sigh of relief. Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Maybe he really was just overreacting.  
  
He hoped it was.  
  
“Alright then. Wish me luck, guys,” he said to them, grabbing his plate. As he began walking, he mumbled to himself, “I know I'm gonna need it.”


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on december 24th, 2018! (totally meant as an early holiday gift lol)  
> we're gettin' to the end, my dudes! hope y'all have been enjoying this so far

The other two watched him walk off. Once he was out of sight, they continued as normal. Virgil had expected otherwise. He was waiting for Patton to enthusiastically burst out in conversation, but he was focused on his phone and food instead.  
  
“Um, Patton?”  
  
“Yeah?” he asked nonchalantly.  
  
“Thought you had something to talk about with me?”  
  
He shook his head. “Nah, I was just trying to get those two to talk to each other. The only way I could do it was to pull you away from Logan and push him away from me.” He took a bite, chewed, then continued. “He looked kinda mopey sitting here with me, anyways. I could tell he was looking forward to that whole date thing but didn't wanna push it after earlier.”  
  
Virgil nodded. “Yeah, I wouldn't blame him. Logan looked pretty bummed out too. I think he finally remembered he had that planned. He probably didn't say anything about it, though, to not cause any more trouble than what he already did.”  
  
“Makes sense.” Patton glanced over in the direction of the other two. “I can't see much, but it looks like they're talking, at least.”  
  
“Want me to check it out?”  
  
“Nah, you'll be too obvious if you go over there without doing something productive.”  
  
“I’ll be productive,” Virgil replied with a snort. “I've got food to finish that I left at that table.”  
  
“Oh, then go ahead.”  
  
The tech got out of the booth and walked over to the other two, somewhat quickly. He had arrived while they were mid-conversation about some topic; he wasn't quite sure because it sounded like a bunch of gibberish to him. He cleared his throat to get their attention and succeeded. Logan glanced over and, realizing who it was, sighed at the interruption.  
  
“What?” he asked, sounding rather annoyed.  
  
“Well, that's no way to greet your friend,” Virgil teased.  
  
“It is when he interrupts a perfectly good conversation,” Logan remarked. “Seriously though, why'd you come bug us?”  
  
“To get the meal I've paid for and haven't finished,” he returned, taking the plate from beside Roman. “That is all.”  
  
“You haven’t paid for it yet. And you're not even the one paying for it! I am!” Logan complained.  
  
“Then might as well not waste your, or really Patton's, money, am I right?” Virgil took a bite, then turned and walked off before Logan could answer him. Logan didn't even bother going after him. He knew it was a lost cause.  
  
“He is such a pain in my ass,” he muttered, causing Roman to snicker.  
  
“I mean, if he wasn't, would you even consider him your best friend? Isn't it like his honorary job to be your nuisance?” Roman teased.  
  
“If it is, I don't like it.”  
  
“Why not? Because he’s good at it?”  
  
Logan smacked his arm. “Well, aren't you the comedic genius?”  
  
“I try my best,” he said with a playful grin.  
  
Logan rolled his eyes pretending to be mad, but he couldn't keep up the charade. He softened his gaze, looking at Roman. “Y'know, I don't really wanna stop being...whatever we are because of earlier.” He sipped his soda anxiously, trying to be calm and unwavering.  
  
Roman hesitated a bit before answering. “I don't either. I know you didn't want to rush into things. I've kinda known that from the beginning. Or, sensed it, really. And, I'll admit it, I'm the same way when it comes to relationships.”  
  
“Really?” Logan was surprised. “You don't seem like the kind of guy to be like that. No offense or anything.”  
  
“None taken,” the other said, waving the comment off. “I know all too well why.”  
  
Logan nodded, watching him intently. Roman continued talking.  
  
“Anyways, I liked Virgil's idea in concept, and I agreed to it on the spur of the moment. I didn't think it through like I should have. Maybe that's what was making me anxious. Not the fact that my attraction to you was waning, but because...I knew the way we were approaching it wasn't the right one. The one we both wanted.”  
  
It was silent for a bit. Roman was hoping he had said the right thing. He had finally put his feelings out there, and he didn't want to be shut down.  
  
Not right away, at least.  
  
And Logan was taking it all in. He understood everything now. He hoped he understood.  
  
Things _seemed_ like they were a whole lot clearer than before, at least.  
  
“I get it. And...you're right. I wouldn't wanted to have rushed into it. Not in that way.” He snorted. “Although, we're kinda doing it that way anyways.”  
  
“Yup. Bet they had anything to do with it?” Roman asked, gesturing in the direction of the other two.  
  
“Oh, I bet you all I own that they do. It's Virgil we're talking about here. With having his plan of setting me up on top of knowing Patton has enough power around here to get what he wants, he'll take any chance he can get to make it work.” He was silent for a second. “But, y'know, I don't think we would be where we are now if it wasn't for them. I do have to admit, I wouldn't have probably talked to you like, ever, if he didn't make me do it.”  
  
Roman nodded. “Yeah, I don't think I would have done it either. But look at us now! We’re doing exactly that.”  
  
“Yeah, and it didn’t hurt to try it out.”  
  
The silence was awkward between them for a bit. They looked at each other, then around, then back at each other. As Logan sipped his soda, Roman began talking again. “Speaking of trying things…” He wanted to get the words out so badly, but he couldn't.  
  
“I think I know what you were gonna ask,” Logan piped up. “You were gonna ask if we could be together, right?”  
  
Roman nodded hesitantly.  
  
“Thought so. I was gonna ask that myself, but I kinda felt awkward about it, y'know?”  
  
“Um, y-yeah,” Roman shyly admitted.  
  
The silence returned, now with both of them avoiding each others glances. Roman had began blushing slightly. He had wanted to ask the question without being so direct about it.  
  
He couldn't do it.  
  
He favored subtlety about these types of things. Asking directly just felt wrong.  
  
Yet, somehow, Logan had pulled it off with ease.  
  
Then again, Logan was probably one of the most direct people he ever knew. He liked conciseness and clarity. What better way to get that than through being direct?  
  
“I accept the offer, y'know.”  
  
Roman's train of thought was broken. He had been jolted back into the moment. “Huh?”  
  
Logan gave a small smile. He could tell he was a bit sidetracked. “We can be together, you dork.”


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on december 31st, 2018!

“Can ya see anything?”  
  
“No, not yet.”  
  
Virgil had leaned over in the booth, looking behind him at the other two. Well, he leaned as much as he could without falling out of it, that is. That would get him noticed by at least everyone in the immediate vicinity. Including them two. How would he explain falling out of a booth without giving away that he was snooping on them?  
  
He leaned over more, but the way he was sitting just wasn't cutting it anymore.  
  
“I can't see shit like this.” He kicked his legs up onto the seat, then crawled over to the edge. He leaned over once again, seeing the other two perfectly this time.  
  
“Virgil!” Patton squeaked. “You're gonna get yourself caught!”  
  
“Not if you keep squawking!” he snapped with a quick turn of his head. “You wanna figure out what's going on, don't you?”  
  
“Yeah, but it's not worth it to get caught, is it?”  
  
“I'm not gonna get caught,” Virgil smarted off. He turned back around, actively ignoring any complaints Patton was giving behind him.  
  
Eventually, Patton gave up complaining since his curiosity got the best of him. He instead began asking questions about what Virgil was seeing.  
  
“What's going on?”  
  
“Well, they were talking, and it looked like it was going good. But now they're just kinda awkwardly looking around.”  
  
“What did they say?”  
  
“Something about us two, I think.” He held his hand up behind him out of nowhere, indicating that he was trying to listen to them. Patton was curiously impatient, but he kept quiet.  
  
Virgil's raised hand soon became a fist pump of excitement. He returned to his former sitting position with a wide grin.  
  
“Wait, what happened?!” Patton asked, hardly containing his excitement.  
  
“We did it, man. We got those two dipsticks together!”  
  
“Wait, really?!” Patton made a huge effort to look over at the other two. “How could you tell from all the way over here?”  
  
“I overheard them, duh.”  
  
Patton nodded. He ran his hand through his hair absentmindedly, trying to think of something to say. “Maybe the credit isn't all on us. I mean, we just made them switch seats, y'know.”  
  
Virgil shrugged. “True. But, if we didn't do that, who's to say they would have talked about that tonight anyways?”  
  
“There is a thing called texting, Virgil.”  
  
The tech rolled his eyes. “Would you really ask someone out through a text?”  
  
“People do it all the time,” Patton returned with a sip of his soda.  
  
“If I know them two like I think I do, then they wouldn't be those people. Besides, I heard it loud and clear. And if you don't believe me, then I'll just ask Logan myself.”  
  
“You can't just do that! Not, like, right after it happens! Then they'll for sure know you were listening. You wouldn't want that, would you?”  
  
“No, but if it happened, I wouldn't go down alone.”  
  
Patton raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”  
  
Virgil gave him a smirk. “It means I'd tell them you were in on it. You made them switch seats.”  
  
“And how does that correlate with you snooping?”  
  
“It means that you made me do it so you could keep tabs on your little experiment.”  
  
“You started the whole trying to get them together thing in the first place!” Patton objected. “Not me!”  
  
“You went along with it!” Virgil retorted. “You're just as at fault as me!”  
  
Patton sighed in defeat. He wasn't wrong there. But he wasn't gonna let him know that. “Okay then. You're right,” he sarcastically admitted.  
  
Virgil looked at him. “Are you just saying that or do you mean it?”  
  
“Of course I mean it.” He tried his hardest to not grin, but he couldn't help it. He ended up giving himself away, which led to Virgil playfully smacking his arm.  
  
“I knew you didn't mean it, you tease!”  
  
As they laughed at each other, it was now Roman and Logan's turn to be the snooping ones.  
  
They had both focused their attention on them once Logan had noticed out of the corner of his eye a flash of purple. Sure, they were done talking and it wasn't causing an interruption. But, it confirmed what Logan was thinking the whole time.  
  
“I knew they were watching us,” Roman said without missing a beat while turned around.  
  
“Mhm hmm,” Logan agreed with a nod. “I guess it's only fair if we return the favor?”  
  
Roman shrugged as he turned back to face Logan again. “I mean, what would the point in it be? It's not like they like each other in that way, y'know?”  
  
“But what if they did? We don't know that.”  
  
Roman's eyes went wide in surprise. “I would like to know that,” he smirked.  
  
The other rolled his eyes. “Don't terrorize them about it, especially if it does end up being true.”  
  
“But they did it to us!”  
  
“And you didn't like that very much, now did you?” Logan questioned, resting a hand under his chin quizzically.  
  
Roman pouted, knowing he was right. “No.” Like a toddler, he even stuck out his lip and slumped in his seat, looking down. He put one elbow on the table and leaned into his hand. His other arm just sat there laying across the table.  
  
Logan noticed this. He moved his hand to link it with Roman's free one. He wrapped his fingers around his hand, hoping he'd notice it. Roman did, and quickly returned the favor.  
  
He didn't expect that kind of gesture from Logan, but he liked it a lot.  
  
“Look at it this way,” Logan piped up. “If they ever ask either one of us for romantic advice, then we'll help out. Although, I'm not sure we're the best choice for that. But we'll still help. We can try our freaking best. Only if they want us to, though.” Roman looked at him, listening intently as he continued. “We can't do that to them just because they did that to us. It's not right.”  
  
After a moment of thought, Roman nodded. Logan had a point, even though it wasn't the one he agreed with the most. It would cause the least amount of trouble in the end.  
  
And after seeing all that went down just for him and Logan, he didn't want to experience it all over again.  
  
“Y'know, I would never expect them two to like each other of all people. They seem like polar opposites.”  
  
Logan chuckled. “I'm sure that's what people said about us when they found out we liked each other. But we get along pretty well, don’t we?”  
“Eh, most of the time.”  
  
Logan rolled his eyes and sighed. He tried to keep serious, but one look at Roman sent the both of them into much needed laughter.


	30. the finale

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> originally posted on december 31st, 2018!

The rest of the night was filled with nothing but good conversation. Each of the two groups had gone into their own equally interesting tangents.  
  
So interesting, in fact, that they had ended up being the last ones of the cast and crew there at the restaurant. They didn't stay much longer after that, despite the place being open all the time. They had a long day ahead tomorrow.  
  
The four of them met up just before they all left to clarify who was taking who home, since their original plans had now changed.  
  
But neither of them minded. They liked the new arrangements better, anyways.  
  
Logan had now been responsible for taking Roman home instead of Virgil. Roman’s place wasn't too far from his own, so he didn't mind taking him. The car ride was quiet up until they arrived. Logan had walked Roman up to his door. They stood there for a minute before he spoke.  
  
“I...I really enjoyed tonight. I didn't expect it to happen, considering the previous events of the day, but here we are.”  
  
Roman had to laugh a bit. “I mean, hey, at least it happened. You know you would be a bit disappointed if it didn't.”  
  
Logan rolled his eyes, but still smiled. He was right.  
  
“Besides that, should we break the grand news to everyone tomorrow? Or, do you think Virgil and Patton will do that deed for us?”  
  
“I mean, if they aren't caught up in things with each other, then probably. But even if they do, it's fine. We'll just go about like normal.”  
  
Logan nodded. Now things were awkwardly silent again. Neither one of them were sure how to say goodbye.  
  
Roman took a shot at it.  
  
“I'll, um, see you tomorrow. Just, y'know, text me when you get back home.”  
  
“Gotcha.”  
  
Without thinking on it too long, Roman leaned in to give him a quick kiss goodbye. He was successful; a little too successful in fact. Logan had hesitated in returning the favor, but he quickly got into it. So much so that Roman had to pull away before he practically made out with him right there on the porch.  
  
He began blushing a bit. “Goodnight, Logan.”  
  
“Goodnight, Roman,” the other replied with a soft grin.  
  
Roman watched him walk back to his car, and he wouldn't stop until Logan was totally out of his sight. Even then, his couldn't get his mind off of him.  
  
And neither could Logan until he got home. Once he did, all he wanted to do was go to bed. But he couldn't do that quite yet. After taking off his shoes, he laid out on his bed, not even bothering to change his clothes.  
  
He didn't care at that point in time. He was so damn tired.  
  
He did care enough to text Roman, as he promised. He sent it, reluctantly set his phone back to vibrate after muting it for the show, took off his glasses, set them aside, and closed his eyes. He didn't want to fully sleep yet, as he was awaiting Roman's reply, but he wouldn't mind if he did doze off.  
  
Roman, back at his place, settled himself on his couch with a blanket around him, the TV on, his phone on one side, and his choice of a late night snack on the other. He knew the chances of him sleeping while watching a show were pretty high, but he would risk that.  
  
Once the first commercial break hit, he checked his phone. Ignoring his many social media notifications, he immediately clicked on the two texts he had.  
  
The first was from Logan.  
  
_Logan: Made it home. Get some rest; you're probably twice as tired as I am.  
  
Roman: I'll try. I don't seem to be tired yet_  
  
He checked the second message. Surprisingly, it was from Patton.  
  
_Patton: Hey, Ro, hope you had a good night. Mind me asking a question from ya?_  
  
His curiosity got the best of him.  
  
_Roman: Don't mind it at all_  
  
It didn't take long for Patton to respond.  
  
_Patton: So when you first realized you liked Logan, did you, like, deny it as much as you could until you realized that it was kinda unavoidable  
  
Roman: Yeah, actually. I denied it initially because I always thought that there was no way he would ever like me back, that he saw me as the scum of the earth. But when I found out he liked me back, I knew that there must be something behind it and I probably should stop denying it_  
  
Patton typed for what seemed like an eternity. He would start, then stop, then start again, then stop again. He eventually sent his message, taking a blind leap.  
  
_Patton: Glad I'm not alone, cuz I think I'm going through that with Virgil_

\---

Just as Logan thought he was going to finally sleep, his phone went off two consecutive times. He woke up, irritated.  
  
He fumbled for his phone without even turning to actually look at where it was. Once he grabbed it, he pulled it up to his face without realizing that all he saw was a blurry screen. He took a second to put his glasses on, then returned to looking at the screen.  
  
Texts from Roman and Virgil. Perfect.  
  
He automatically decided that if neither of them seemed utterly important, then he would simply read them now and reply later. He reluctantly opened the one from Roman. After reading it, he replied, sent it, and moved on.  
  
_Logan: Trust me. If it doesn't hit you now, it will later._  
  
He had thought he had gotten just one text from Virgil, but he was oh so wrong. He had gotten at least 10.  
  
_Virgil: oh god i think I'm in trouble  
well not really  
i didn't actually do anything bad  
but i mean trouble as in i'm kinda panicking  
like i'm in a situation i don't wanna be in  
so that’s why i’m panicking  
you're not replying  
are you mad  
i know you're probably tired but my mind goes places  
and you're usually up late  
i need to talk to you man c'mon  
i don't think i can sleep if i don't talk about this  
Logan plz  
help_  
  
Logan let out a huge sigh, but decided to reply.  
  
_Logan: I was trying to sleep, but I guess that's not going to happen. It's fine. What's up with you?  
  
Virgil: i think i like Patton.  
like like him like him_  
  
Logan's eyes went wide. He couldn't believe it.  
  
_Logan: Are you serious?  
  
Virgil: absofuckinglutely  
  
Logan: Is it a good thing or a bad thing?  
  
Virgil: i don't know and at this point i'm kinda afraid to ask  
i mean i don’t mind but damn  
it came on fucking fast  
  
Logan: I know how that feels.  
Do you think he reciprocates your feelings?  
  
Virgil: you mean does he feel the same way? shit if i know  
i think so  
  
Logan: Your suspicions are probably correct. Was he acting like it while you guys were talking earlier?_  
  
Virgil was typing for a while. Or rather starting and stopping. He was mentally going through the night's events, recalling what he could of Patton's actions.  
  
_Virgil: i mean i dunno  
he's Patton he smiles like 90% of the time so how am i supposed to tell if he's smiling at me or at the fact that he saw a dog earlier or something  
  
Logan: Did it look genuine?  
  
Virgil: i am a clueless gay enlighten me logan_  
  
He sighed.  
  
_Logan: Okay, let's say you made a joke. If he laughed, did he ever sound like he was seriously laughing at it or just being polite?  
  
Virgil: oh yeah he was serious  
then again he laughs at everything  
  
Logan: Was he laughing really hard?  
  
Virgil: yeah  
  
Logan: More than normal?  
  
Virgil: actually yeah  
what do you think that means  
  
Logan: Either you have a sense of humor, or he's into you.  
  
Virgil: explain  
again  
clueless gay  
  
Logan: If it is true that he has a potential crush on you, it could have the psychological effect in which he blocks out anything negative relating to you and focuses on the positive things with emphasis. Going back to the joke example, let’s say it was a really terrible one.  
  
Virgil: wow thanks  
  
Logan: Moving on. Despite the terrible humor, I assume he would laugh really hard at it due to the previously mentioned state of mind he must be in. He filtered out the fact that it was a bad joke and emphasized the fact that it was coming from you.  
  
Virgil: wow you really made that scientific didn't you  
  
Logan: You wanted my explanation. I provided.  
Besides that, what else did he do?  
  
Virgil: well he looked like he was really listening to what i was saying  
and surprisingly enough i could keep eye contact with him  
he wasn't coming off as this frightening guy in charge like he usually does  
he was just being a sincere dude and i could see that  
like before i could never look him in the eye because he came off super serious  
but then? it just seemed like he was vulnerable  
like he opened up to me  
i dunno what to do man_  
  
Logan thought his response over for a while.  
  
Virgil and Patton? Together? Yeah, it seemed fitting in theory, but there was a lot that could happen in reality.  
  
He knew from experience after being friends with Virgil for as long as he has. It definitely took a lot of effort when it came to dealing with issues between them. Prime example was the whole thing with Roman.  
  
How would Patton handle things like that?  
  
Would he be like Logan and take none of his shit and fight back? Or would he break down because he couldn't handle the emotions? Logan knew he was somewhat sensitive, but how sensitive was he really?  
  
So many more thoughts were running through his head, but he only focused on one: This was Virgil's thing to worry about, not Logan's. If he wanted to get himself into that mess, then he can. Logan would only help him if he wanted it.  
  
_Logan: If you wanna go for it, go for it. I'm not stopping you unless you want me to.  
I'm sure I've found my soulmate. Now it's time for you to find yours._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you're seeing this, thank you so much for reading this far! i've enjoyed going back through this fic again; i remembered how much fun i had writing it originally which has made me miss it even more. but i can always write more things and i shall!  
> once again, thank you so much for reading and please check out my other works!


End file.
